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LIGHT ANFTEUTH; 



COJ.-iiECTED FROM 



THE BIBLE AND ANCIENT AND 
MODERN HISTORY, 



CONTAINING THE 



UNIVERSAL HISTOEY 



OF THE 



COLORED AND THE INDIAN RACE 

FROM THE CREATION OF THE WORLD 
TO THE PRESENT TIME. 



BY R. B. LEWIS, 

A COLORED MAN. 



Search this work with care and candor j 
Every line and page you read 

Will brighten all the truths of Scripture, 
Proved by history — plain indeed. , . 



BOSTON: 

PUBLISHED BY A COMMITTEE OF COLORED GENTLEMEN. 

BENJAMIN F. ROBERTS, PRINTER. 

1844. 






Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1836,. 

By R. B. LEWIS, 

In the Clerk's office of the District Court of Maine ^ 

and transferred to 

Messrs. Dalton, Roberts, Scott and Lewis, 

of Boston, Mass., Oct. 10, 1843. 



INTRODUCTION.. 



We publish this volume of collections from sacred and profane 
history, with a determination that a correct knowledge of the 
Colored and Indian people, ancient and modern, may be extended 
freely, unbiassed by any prejudicial effects from descent or sta- 
tion. In this country, where the former are subjected to the deep- 
est degradation — where every variety of persecution is mea- 
sured out to this unfortunate race, it is highly expedient that 
"Light and Truth" should be promulgated, in order that oppres- 
sors shall not consider it an indispensable duty to trample upon 
the weak and defenceless. In a large portion of this country, 
men, women and children, belonging to this race, are held as ar- 
ticles of merchandi^ie by the whites ; the iron heart of gain hath 
forgotten every sacred and social relation, while, at its expense, 
millions have perished on the cursed rack. The history of this 
class is well known in many states in this country. But in some 
countries a mighty contrast is visible ; colored men enjoy every 
inherent attainment, free from human interference. 

The Indians in this country are also an abused people. The 
lofty hills the verdant plains, and the beautiful vallies that the 
poor Indian, only three centuries since, could proudly call his 
own, are now possessed by a' foj-eign people. Here and there we 
see a wanderer"; they have been driven from their homes to in- 
habit the wilderness west of the Rocky Mountains. In other 
countries this class are more happily situated. 

The author of this compilation has been some years in gath- 
ering this information. He is a descendant of the two races he 
so ably vindicates. His manuscripts have been inspected by sev- 



IV INTRODUCTION. 

eral learned gentlemen, who recommend them in the highest 
terms. Among his subscriptions, we find persons in every situa- 
tion in society. Quite a number of clergymen of the different 
denominations, lawyers, doctors, &c., &c., comprise a majority of 
the subscribers. 

We, the undersigned, in consideration of the valuable informa- 
tion contained in this work, and in behalf of the welfare of the 
Colored and Indian racej^ubmit the same to a candid perusal. 
Thomas Dalton, 

Charles H.Roberts, ^ „ 7 7-7- ^ 
A ^r T / "uoiishino[ (Jommittee, 

Andress v. Lewis, ' °' 

James Scott, 
Boston, January 25, 1844, 



M' 



CONTENTS. 



Chapter I. — -The History of Man. 

Primitive Man — The Land of Ethiopia, . . 9 

Thefallof Man — His Location, ... 10 

The Sons of Adam, , .... 10 

The Generation of Adam, .... 11 

The Sons of Noah, 13 

The Generations of Ham, . , . . 15 

The Generations of Japhet, . . . .18 

The Blessings and Generations of Abraham, . . 19 

The Two Nations of Isaac, . . . .23 

The Generations of Esau — The Red People, . 24 

The People of Ethiopia, ..... 25 
The Descendants of Egypt, .... 26 

The Generations of Jacob, . . . .30 

Chapter II.— Ancient Cities and Kingdoms, 



Cities of JEthiopia, 

The Kingdom of Assyria, 

The Kingdom of Ethiopia, 

The Kingdom of Egypt, 

The Cities of Egypt, 

The Land of Canaan, 

The Towns and Cities of Jordan, 

The Cities of Judea, 

The Cities of Galilee, 

The Cities of Asia Minor, 

The Cities of Persia and Media, 

The Kingdom and Cities of Syria, 

Cities of Africa, 



40 
43 
46 
48 
50 
63 
73 
79 
89 
91 
96 
98 
103 



TI 



CONTENTS. 



Cities of Arabia. 

The Cities of Edom, 

The Amalekites, 

The Cities of Moab, 

The Grecian Cities, 

The Roman Empire, 

The Kingdom of Macedonia, 

The Islands of the Mediterranean, 

African Islands, . , . 



Chapter III. 



Antiquity of America, 



107 
110 
111 
112 
114 
115 
117 
119 
122 



124 



Chapter IV. — Ancient Kings and Wars. 



Abraham the Prince, a Conqueror of Kings, 

The Ethiopian Kings of Egypt, 

The Character of Julius Csesar, 

A Comparison of Csesar with Cato, 

The Character of Cato, 

The Egyptians rise against Persia supported by the 

The Ancient Kings, . . 

Darius's Conquest of India, &c., 

Alexander, .... 

The Overthrow of the Persian Empire, 

The History of Xerxes, 

Arabian Kings, ' . 

The Ethiopian Kings of Babylon and Assyria 

The Kings of Abyssinia, 

The Kings of the Hebrews, 

The Kings of Judah, 

The Kings of Israel, 

The Governors of Judea, . . . ^ 

The Kings of Syria, 

The Governors of Syria, 

The Kings of Rome, 

The List of Judges and Term of Service, 

The Judges of Israel, 



. 128 

129 
. 137 

138 
. 139 
Athenians, 140 
. 142 

152 
. .153 

154 
. 154 

163 
. 164 

169 
. 170 

172 
. 177 

180 
. 182 

185 

185 

188 
. 189 



CONTENTS. 



VII 



Chapter V. — Colored Generals and Soldiers. 

Hanno, . . . . . . . 193 

Hamilcar, . . . " . . . 193 

Imilcon, ...,.., 194 
Hannibal, . . . . . . 194 

Scipio Africanus, ...... 195 

Pompey, . . . . . . 197 

Cimon, . . . . . . .199 

Belisarius, ...... 200 

Col. Henry Diaz, 201 

Colored Soldiers, . . . . .206 

The last American War with Great Britain, . . 207 

Proclamation to the Free People of Color, . . 209 

Chapter VI. — Destruction of Jerusalem. 

The Great City of Jerusalem, . . . . 210 

The Upper City, . . . . ' . 211 

The Lower City, . . ... .211 

A Description of Solomon's Temple, . » 212 

The Destruction of Jerusalem, . . . . 217 

Destruction of the Jews, . . . . 243 



Chapter VIL— ■ The Present 

and Israel. 

The Hebrews or Israelites, the Jews, 

The Indian Tribes in America, 

The True Christians in this Land are Indians, 



State of Judah 



246 
249 

273 



Chapter VIIL— The Arts and Sciences. 

Early Discoveries, Inventions, &c. . . . 280 



Astronomy, .... 

Rhetoric, .... 

Architecture, 

The Lake of Moeris, 

Temples of Egypt, . . . 

The Explanation of Five Grand Virtues, 



287 
289 
289 
298 
301 
302 



t^ni 



CONTENTS* 



The Grecian Philosophers, 
The Roman Philosophers, 



30^ 
303 



Chapter IX. 
Modern Eminent Colored Men, . . . . 304 

Chapter X. — The Great Historical Ages. 

Ancient Historians, ..... 309 

Ancient Poets, ..... 311 

A Short View of Augustine's City of God, , . . 315 

Modern Historians, ..... 326 

Female Writers, . . . , . .330 

Burning of the Libraries, .... 334 

Chapter XL — -The Ancient Arabians. 

The Arabic Language, . . . . . 337 

The Word Negro, '339 

The Hair of Men's Heads, . . . .343 

The Rock of Gibraltar, .... 343 

The Moorish Castle, . . . . .343 

Chapter XII. — History of the Prophets. 

History of tlie Prophets, . . . . . 347 

Shepherds of Antiquity, ... * 360 

The Generation of Jesus Christ, . . . . 362 

The Birth of Jesus Christ, » . . . 367 

Chapter XIII. — Periods, &,c. 

Periods, .369 

Chronological Table, from A. D. 826 to 1791, . 370 

Chapter XIV.— -St. Domingo or Hayti. 

Hayti, ....... 385 

Extracts from the Letter of the Abbe Gregoire, . 396 

Colored Republics of Guiana, .... 398 

Scale of Complexion, ..... 400 



LIGHT AND TRUTH. 



CHAPTER I. 



THE HISTORY OF MAN 



PRIMITIVE MAN — THE LAND OF ETHIOPIA. 

The Creation took place 4004 years before the 
Christian era, according to the Jewish computation. In 
the sixth day of the creation, Gfod created man, in his 
own image. " In the Image of God created He him; 
male and female created He them," — (Gen. i. 27.) "And 
the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, 
and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man 
became a living soul." — (Gen. ii. 7.) [The scriptures 
evidently distinguish between the spirit and soul. — (1 
Thess. V. 23: Heb. iv. 12.) The word which we call 
soul is used to denote mere animal life, the seat of sen- 
sations, appetites and passions. — (Gen. 1: 20.) Here 
the word translated life is the same with that which is 
elsewhere translated soul. Hence we have our bodies 
and animal life in common with brutes; but the spirit, 
which was created in the likeness or image of God, and 
which raises man above the brutes that perish, makes 
him a rational and accountable being.] — (Gen. i. 26, 
27: ii. 7.) 

Adam, the first person, was created of the dust of the 
earth; and the Lord God formed the dust into an inani- 
mate figure, and made a man, Kve, the second person, 
was formed of a rib taken out of man's side, and called 
a woman. "And the Lord God took the man, and put 
2 



10 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

him into the Garden of Eden, to dress it and to keep it." 
— (Gen. ii. 15.) The location of this garden was east- 
ward from Canaan, and north from the river Gihon, the 
land of Ethiopia. — (Gen. ii. 13.) The soil of Eden 
was very rich, and black; it produced the richest fruit 
and trees of all the earth. 



THE FALL OF MAN — HIS LOCATION. 

The transgression of Adam and Eve, commonly called 
the fall of man, took place, probably, soon after the cre- 
ation, and has been most awful in its consequences. For 
their transgression, Adam and his companion were driv- 
en out of the garden, to till the ground of Ethiopia, it 
needing c.ultivation in consequence of the curse. — (Gen. 
iii. 17.) Adam and his posterity settled on the river Gi- 
hon, that went out of the Garden of Eden, and compass- 
ed the whole land (or country) of Ethiopia; and they 
tilled the ground, from which Adam was taken. — (Gen. 
ii. 13: iii. 23.) 

The word Jldam is derived as follows: Adam, Adamah, 
Adami, Admah — which means earthy. The earth is a 
rich, dark substance, and from it our first parents were 
taken. Now if we admit that Dr. Brown's and other Bi- 
ble Dictionaries are correct in their explanations of the 
meaning of terms, then the deduction must be that Ethi- 
opia (Gen. ii. 13,) was black, and the first people were 
Ethiopians, or blacks. 



THE SONS OF ADAM. 

Cain and Abel were the first offspring of Adam and 
Eve. Cain was a tiller of the ground; Abel a keeper of 
sheep. In process of time, it came to pass that Cain 
brought, of the fruit of the ground, an offering unto the 
Lord; and Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his 
flock, and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect 
unto Abel and to his offering; but unto Cain and to his 
offering he had not respect. Hence arose, on the part 
of Cain, a disaffection towards his brother, which result- 
ed in the death of Abel, about thirty years after the ere- 



THE HISTORY OF MAN. 11 

ation. This was the first instance of death (temporal) 
in our world; and of death by the hands of a fellow man 
— a brother. 

Adam's third son, Seth, was born A. M. 130. 

The foundation of the first antediluvian empire was 
laid by the sons and sons' sons of Adam; and lasted the 
space of 1656 years. This was the empire of Ethiopia. 

Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and 
dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden, (now Per- 
sia.) "And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, 
and bare Enoch; and he builded a city, and called it af- 
ter the name of his son, Enoch." — (Gen. iv. 16, 17.) 



THE GENERATION OF ADAM. 

Adam was a man formed of the earth, reddish in col- 
or. — (Josephus; Genesis, ch. 1, 2, 4 and 5.) 

Adam begat Seth, and died at the age of 930 years. 

Seth begat Enos, and died at the age of 912 years. 

Enos begat Cainan, and died at the age of 905 years. 

Cainan begat Mahaialeel, and died at the age of 910 
years. 

Mahaialeel begat Jared, and died at the age of 895 
years. 

Jared begat Enoch, and died at the age of 962 years. 

Enoch begat Methuselah, and, at the age 365, " was 
not, for God took him." 

Methuselah begat Lamech, and died at the age of 969 
years. 

Lamech begat Noah, and died at the age of 777 years. 

And Noah was 500 years old; and Noah begat Shem 
Ham and Japhet. 

Lamech, the fifth in descent from Cainan, was the fa- 
ther of Jabal, who first lived in tents, and owned cattle 
— and of Jubal, " the father of all such as handle the 
harp and the organ " — and of Tubalcain, " an instruc- 
tor of every artificer in brass and iron." Thus early 
did the r?ecessities of man establish the right of proper- 
ty, and originate the mechanical arts; and the patriarchal 

government which existed in the antediluvian ages the 

knowledge and experience acquired in a life of many 



12 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

centuries — must have been favorable to a high degree^ 
of perfection in these arts, and the science of music. 

In the six hundredth year of Noah, and 2348 years 
before Christ, " the flood of waters was upon the earth." 
The prediction of the deluge to Noah was of the nature 
of a warning to him, in order that he might prepare him- 
self against it. A knowledge of the deluge was com- 
municated to him 120 years before the event took place. 
It entirely covered the earth; and destroyed all the in- 
habitants, with the exception of the eight individuals who 
composed Noah's family, and a pair of each species of 
animals — all of whom were preserved in the ark. The 
ark was built in expectation of the flood; it was a struc- 
ture 480 feet or more in length, 81 in breath, and 41 in 
height. It was sufficiently capacious to answer the pur- 
pose for which it was designed; and was three stories 
high, containing many small compartments for the suita- 
ble accommodation of its intended occupants. 

At the appointed time, the family of Noah — and all 
kinds of beasts, birds and reptiles, by pairs — went into 
the ark. " And God blessed righteous Noah and his 
family; and the Lord shut him in, in the six hundredth 
year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth 
day of the month." 

This period embraces 1656 years from the creation.* 

Noah and his companions came out of the ark 2347 
years before Christ, to till and replenish the earth. And 
Noah builded an altar unto the Lord, and took of every 
clean beast and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt 
offerings upon the altar. And Noah and his family soon 
journeyed from Mount Ararat eastward to Armenia; and 
the whole earth was of one language and of one speech. 
And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, 
that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, (Chaldea,) 
and they dwelt there. And they said one to another, Go 
to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And 
they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar. 
And they said, Go to, let us build a city, and a tower. 



* According to the time used in scripture, Noah and his companions con- 
tinued in the ark one year and ten days. The ark floated on the waters 150 
days, and then rested on one of the summits of Mt. Ararat} but it was sev- 
eral months before the waters entirely subsided. 



THE HISTORY OF MAN. 13 

whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us 
a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the 
whole earth. And the Lord came down to see the city 
and the tower, which the children of men builded. And 
the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have 
all one language, and this they begin to do; and now 
nothing will be restrained from them which they have 
imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and there con- 
found their language, that they may not understand each 
other's speech. So the Lord scattered them abroad from 
thence upon the face of all the earth. This important 
event, recorded in Gen. xi., occurred about 2160 years 
before Christ, and was the origin of the division of the 
human family into distinct nations. 



THE SONS OF NOAH. 

The sons of Noah who went forth out of the ark, were 
Shem, Ham and Japhet — and of them was the whole 
earth peopled. 

To the descendants of Ham, I have generally given 
the name of Ethiopians — blacks with frizzled or curly 
hair. The descendants of Shem were denominated As- 
syrians and Syrians — blacks with long straight hair. 

Shem had five sons — Elam, Ashur, Arphaxad, Aram 
and Laud — who inhabited the land from the Euphrates 
to the Indian Ocean and Abyssinia. 

Elam left a posterity called Elamites — the ancestors 
of the Persians. 

Ashur lived at the city of Nineveh, and named his sub- 
jects Assyrians, who became the most fortunate nation. 

Arphaxad named the Arphaxadites, now called the 
Chaldeans. 

From Aram sprang the Aramites, whom the Greeks 
call Syrians. 

Laud founded the Ladites, who are now called the Ly- 
dians. 

Aram had four sons — Uz, Ul, Gather and Mesa. 

Uz founded Trachonitis and Damascus — between Pa- 
lestine and Celosyria. 

Ul founded Armenia; and from Gather sprang the 
Bactrians. 



14 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

Mesa was the progenitor of the Mesaneans, whose 
country is now Called Chaax Spaani. 

Sala was the son of Arphaxad, and Heber was the son 
of Sala, From Heber the Jews received the name of 
Hebrews; he was among their progenitors, according to 
Josephus. Heber begat Jactan, and Phaleg, who was 
thus called, because he was born at the dispersion of the 
nations. Phaleg's- sons were Elmodad, Saleph, Aser- 
moth, Jerah, Adoram, Aizel, Decla, Eba, Abimael, Sa- 
beus, Ophir, Euilat and Jobab. — These settled on the 
Cophen, an Indian river, and in a part of Asia near it. 

The son of Shem was Arphaxad. 

The son of Arphaxad was Salah. 

The son of Salah was Eber. 

The son of Eber was Peleg. 

The son of Peleg was Reu. 

The son of Reii was Serus;;. 

The son of Serug was Nahor. 

The son of Nahor was Terah. 

The son of Terah was Abram, afterwards called Abra- 
ham. 

The sons of Abraham were Ishmael and Isaac. 

Ishmael grew up, and married a wife, by birth an 
Egyptian, from whence his own mother herself was orig- 
inally derived. By this wife were born to Ishmael twelve 
sons — Nabaiath, Keder, Abdeel, Mabsam, Idumas, Mas- 
maos, Mason, Chodaa, Theman, Jetur, Naphesus and 
Kadmud. These inhabited all the country from the Eu- 
phrates to the Red Sea, and called it Nabatene. They 
are an Arabian nation, and name their tribes from these, 
both because of their own virtue, and because of the 
dignity of Abraham, their father, — (.Josephus.) 

The sons of Abraham, by Keturah, were Zimran, Jok- 
shan, Medam, Midian, Ishbak and Shua, 

The sons of Jokshan were Saba and Dedan. 

The sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim and Le- 
ummim. 

The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, 
Abidah and Eldaah. All these were the offspring of 
Keturah, the Canaanitish woman, — (Gen, xxv.) 

The sons of Esau were Eliphaz, Reuel or Jethro, Je- 
ush, Jaalam and Korah. 



THE HISTORY OP MAN. 15 

The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zephi, Ga- 
tam, Kenaz, Timna and Amalek. 

The sons of Reuel were Nahath, Zerah, Shammah 
and Mizzah — the sons of Esau by the daughter of Ish- 
mael. — (Gen. xxxvi. Chron. i.) 

These were the generations of Shem, after their fam- 
ilies and tongues, in their countries and nation; they are 
called blacks by a Grecian historian — -being a people 
with long, straight hair. 



THE GENERATIONS O^ HAM. 

The meaning or signification of the following; words is 
found in Dr. Brown's Dictionary of the Bible: ^'Ethio- 
pia" — blackness; "Ethiopians" — black; "Cush" — 
Ethiopians — black; "Cushen," "Cushi," "Cuth," 
"Cuthah" — Ethiopia, blackness. 

That portion of the earth which was first peopled, af- 
ter Adam and Eve had left Paradise, was the land of 
Ethiopia, by the Ethiopians, on the river Gihon, that 
went out of the Garden of Eden, "which compasseth 
the whole land (or country) of Ethiopia," 4003 years 
before Christ.-^ (Gen. ii. 13.) The children of Ethio- 
pia were from Adam to Noah, through the lineage of 
Seth. — {Gen. v.) 

The generations of Ham, the son of Noah, an Ethio- 
pian, were Cush, Miriam, Phut and Canaan. — (Gen. x. 
1: chap, i.; 2218 years before Christ.) They possess- 
ed the land from Syria and Amanus, and the mountains 
of Lihaous, and all its seacoast, and as far as the ocean 
- — holding it as their own. 

The Cushites v/ere the descendants of Cush. Calmet 
believes that a colony of Cushites settled in the north- 
ern part of Assyria, on the Araxes — the present Aras 
or Araxis — a river which rises near the Euphrates, and 
falls into the Caspian Sea. Calmet 's Dictionary of the 
Bible renders Cush the province of Cuthali. Brown 
thinks that the Cuthahites, who emigrated into Samaria, 
were descendants of Cush. — (2 Kings xvii. 24.) 

Misraim (Mesraites,) founded Egypt; the country was 
called Mestre, and the inhabitants Mestreans. 

Phut possessed himself of Lybia, and gave the name 



16 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

of Phutites to its inhabitants. In the country of the 
Moors, there is a river of this name. 

Canaan, the fourth son of Ham, inhabited the land 
now called Judea; and following the customs of the times, 
named it from himself, Canaan. 

The sons of Cush were Seba, Habilah, Sabtah, Raa- 
mah, Sabtechah and Nimrod. — (Gen. x.) 

Sheba, or Seba. There were several of this name: — 
1. The son of Cush, who gave his name to a country in 
Arabia. — (Gen. x. 7: Ps. Ixxii. 10.) 2. The grandson 
of Cush. — (Gen. x. 7.) 3. The son of Joktan. — 
(Gen. X. 29: Gen. xviii.) 4. The grandson of Abra- 
ham. — (Gen. XXV. 3.) All these seem to have taken 
up their residence in Arabia, or Abyssinia in Africa, and 
perhaps most of them in the south part of Arabia and 
Ethiopia, near the Red Sea. One or more of these 
Shebas gave name to the country whose queen came to 
visit Solomon, bringing him large presents of gold, spi- 
ces and precious stones. This is also the name of a fa- 
mous well, sometimes called Sheba, and sometimes Beer- 
sheba. — (Gen. xxvi. 33.) 

Havilah (Evilas,) was the father of the Evileans, who 
are called Getuti, and inhabited Arabia, near the Red Sea. 

Sabtah (Sabathes,) was the founder of the Sabathens, 
a nation now called by the Greeks, Astaborans, who set* 
tied in Arabia, near the Persian Gulf. 

The Sabactens, descendants of Sabtechah, (Sabactas,) 
settled likewise in Arabia, upon the borders of the Red 
Sea; and the Ragmeans, the descendants of Raaman* 
(Ragmus,) settled in Ethiopia. 

Nimrod, the son of Cush, an Ethiopian, was a might/ 
one upon the earth. He built Babel, Erech, and Accad 
Calneh, and founded the Babylonian Empire, building 
Babylon, his capital, in the land of Shinar, or Chaldea, 
also known as the Land of Nimrod. — (Gen. x.: Micah 
V. 6.) 

Raamah had two sons; one of whom, Judasas, settled 
the Judadeans, a western nation of Ethiopians. 

The sons of Misraim, eight in number, possessed the 
country from Gaza to Egypt, which took its name from 
Philestim, one of them. A part of that country was call- 
ed Palestine by the Greeks. 



THE HISTORY OF MAN. 17 

Misraim's sons were Ludiem, Enemim, Labim, Nedim, 
Pethrosim, Chesloim, Cophthorim and Philestim. In 
consequence of the devastations of the Ethiopic war, we 
are acquainted with the names only of these — if we ex- 
cept Philestim, previously mentioned, and Labim, who 
settled and gave his name to Lybia. 

The Canaanites, called by the Greeks Phoenicians and 
Ethiopians, were the descendants of Canaan, the fourth 
son of Ham, and grandson of Noah; and inhabited the 
land of Canaan — the country now called Judea. The 
border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou com- 
est from Gaza, unto Gagar; as thou goest unto Sodom, 
and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto La- 
sha. The sons of Canaan were Sidon, Heth, the Jebu- 
site, the Amorite, the Girgashite, the Hivite and the Ar- 
kite, the Sinite, the Arvadlte, the Zemarite, and the Ha- 
mathite. — (Gen. x.) 

The Sidonians built Sidon in the province of Phoenicia. 

The children of Heth built the city of Hebron, in the 
land of Canaan. Abraham was a mighty prince among 
them, and buried Sarah, his wife, in the field of the sons 
of Heth. — (Gen. xxiii.) 

Heshbon was a city of the Amorites. 

Hamath and Ashina, built by the Hamathites, border 
on Tyre and Sidon. 

Amathus settled in Amathine, which is even now call- 
ed Amathe by the inhabitants; although the Macedonians 
named it Ethiopia, from one of his posterity. Amathus 
is the name of a city on the island of Cyprus. Arudeus 
possessed the island of Libanus. 

The Amalekites were the descendants of Amalek, of 
the family of Ham; they inhabited the southern part of 
Canaan, and were the first of the nations. -^ (Numbers, 
xxiv. 20.) 

The Anakines were also the offspring of Ham, and 
were a powerful people; their cities were walled, and 
very sjreat. 

The men of Cuth made (or built,) Nergal. — (2 Kings, 
xvii. 30.) Cushi came with tidings unto King David of 
the death of Absalom, his son from the army. — (2 Sam, 
xviii.) All the princes sent Jehudi, the son of Nathani- 
ah, the son of Shelamiah, the son of Cushi. — (Jer, xxxvi. 



18 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

14.) Cushi, the son of Jedediah, the son of Amariah, 
the son of Hizkiah. — (Zephaniah i. 1.) The tents of 
Cushen. — (Habakkuk iii. 7.) 

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord 
shall set his hand again the second time to recover the 
remnant of his people, which shall be left from Assyria, 
and from Egypt, and from Pathran, and from Cush, and 
from Elam, and from Shinar (or Chaldea,) and from Ha- 
math, and from the islands of the sea. Then shall the 
JStkiopians, the despised, oppressed and outcast of Israel, 
be gathered together as one, from the four quarters of 
the earth, unto God. — (Is. xi. 11, 12.) 

These were the descendants of Ham, who were de- 
nominated blacks by the Grecian historian. Their hair 
was frizzly or curly. — (Herodotus, &g. &.c.) 

The Phoenicians — the Canaanites of sacred history 
— were among the most early civilized nations of the 
earth. We, the Christian and civilized people of the 
present day, are indebted to them for our knowledge of 
navigation. The fragments of Sanchoniatho are the most 
ancient monuments of writing, after the books of Moses. 
Greece was indebted to the Phoenicians and Egyptians 
for the first principles of civilization — the founders of 
that kingdom being the ancient Phoenicians. 



THE GENERATIONS OF JAFHET. 

Japhet had seven sons. Their settlements began at 
the mountains of Taurus and Amanus; they extended 
them in Asia as far as the river Tanais, and in Europe to 
Cadiz. Settling themselves upon the land which was 
previously unoccupied, they founded nations called by 
their own names; for Gomer founded those whom the 
Greeks now call Galatians, (Gauls,) but were then called 
Gomerites. 

Magog founded those, that from him, were called Ma- 
gogites — but by the Greeks, Scythians. 

Madai founded the Medeans, who are called Medes by 
the Greeks, and from Javan, Jouia. 

Thobel founded the Thobelites, who are now called 
Iberas. 



THE HISTORY OF MAN. 19 

Mosoch founded the Mosachem; now they are called 
Cappadocians. 

The three sons of Gomer' were Aschanaz, Riphath, 
and Thrugramma. 

Aschanaz founded the Aschanasians, who are now 
called, by the Greeks Rheginians. 

Rephath founded the Ripheans, now called Paphlago- 
nians, 

Thrugramma founded the Thrugrammeans, who, as 
the Greeks resolved, were named Phrygians. 

The three sons of Javan were Elisa, Tharsus, and Ce- 
thimus. 

Elisa gave name to the Elisians, who were his sub- 
jects; they are now the Cohans. 

The Cilicians were anciently called* Tharsians, from 
Tharsus; their metropolis also is Tarsus. 

Cethimus possessed the island of Cethima; it is now 
called Cyprus. 

These were the generations of Japhet, after their 
families and tongues, in their countries and nations; who 
were also denominated colored people by the Grecian 
historian. 



THE BLESSING AND GENERATIONS OF ABRAHAM. 

Nahor, (Gen. xi. 23,) or Nachor, (Josh. xxiv. 2,) was 
the name of Abraham's grandfather, and also the name 
3f one of Abraham's brothers, (Gen. xi. 26,) who mar- 
ried Milcah, the daughter of Haran, (Gen. xi. 19.) He 
ived at Haren, which is thence called the city of Nahor, 
\^Gen. xxiv. 10.) 

Abram was the son of Terah; and Sarai, Abram's 
wife, his daughter-in-law. Abram was born in Chaldea, 
in the city of Ur, (Gen. xi. 31,) but forsook the .place of 
his birth and connections, to settle in Canaan. And the 
Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying. Unto thy 
seed I have given this land, from the river of Egypt un- 
to the great river Euphrates. And the Lord said unto 
him, I am the Lord, that brought thee out of Ur of the 
Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it. And 
Abram and family went down into Egypt, to sojourn 



20 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

during a greivous famine in Canaan; but returned and 
dwelt in the land of Canaan. Now Sarai, Abram's wife, 
was barren; and she gave her handmaid, an Egyptian 
or Ethiopian, named Hagar, to Abram to wife. And of 
Hagar, Ishmael was born to Abram, when he was eighty- 
six years old. — (Gen. xvi., xvii.) 

And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the 
Lord appeared unto Abram, and said unto him, I am the 
Almighty God: walk before me, and be thou perfect. 
And 1 will make my covenant between me and thee, and 
will multiply thee exceedingly. And Abram fell on his 
face before the Lord, and God talked with him, saying, 
As for me, behold my covenant is with thee, and thou 
shalt be the father of many nations. Neither shall thy 
name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be 
Abraham — for a father of many nations have I made 
thee. And I will make thee exceedingly fruitful, and I 
will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of 
thee. And I will establish my covenant between me and 
thee, and thy seed after thee in their generations, for an 
everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy 
seed after thee. 

And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might 
live before thee! And God said. As for Ishmael, I have 
heard thee. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make 
him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve 
princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great na- 
tion. — (Gen. xvii. 20: xxv. 16.) Abraham's circumci- 
sion of every male child, at eight days old, was estab- 
lished as a token of the covenant between him and God. 
And Abraham was ninety years old and nine when he 
was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. And Ish- 
mael, his son, was thirteen years old, when he was cir- 
cumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. In the self same 
day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son. — 
(Gen. xvii. 26.) 

And Ishmael dwelt in the wilderness of Paran; and 
his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt. — - 
(Gen. xxi. 21. 

And these are the names of the sons of' Ishmael, the 
son of Abraham: — Nebajoth, Kedar, and Abdeel; and 
Mibsam, Misnona, and Dumah; Massa, Hadar, and Te- 



THE HISTORY OF MAN. 21 

mah; and Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah — twelve prin- 
ces, towns and castles, according to their nations. And 
they dwelt from Havilah unto Shur, that is before Egypt, 
as thou goest toward Assyria. — (Gen. xxv.) 

Ishmael peopled Arabia, and a part of Asia. The 
Moors were his descendants. 

And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai, thy wife, 
thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be 
her name; and I will bless her, and give thee a son also 
of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother 
of nations; kings of people shall be of her. — (Gen. xvii,) 

Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old 
age; at the set time of which God had spoken unto him: 
and Abraham called his name Isaac; and circumcised 
him when he was eight days old, as God had commanded 
him: and Abraham was a hundred years old when Isaac 
was born. And there was a famine in the land, beside 
the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And 
Isaac went to Gerer; and the Lord appeared unto him, 
and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land 
which I shall tell thee of; sojourn in this land, and I will 
be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and un- 
to thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will 
perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy fath- 
er; and I will malte thy seed to multiply as the stars of 
heaven, and I will give unto thy seed all these countries; 
and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be bless- 
ed. — (Gen. XX, xxvi.) 

Isaac had now arrived at mature age, and Abraham 
called one of his servants, probably Eliezer, (Gen. xv. 
2,) and made him swear that he would obtain a wife for 
Isaac; not among the Canaanites, (where they then 
dwelt, and who were to be cut otf, according to the re- 
vealed purpose of God,) but in Abraham's native coun- 
try, and from among his own kindred. This enterprise 
terminated successfully, and every desire of the patri- 
arch respecting Isaac's marriage was answered. 

Abraham removed his tent to Egypt; and having be- 
come very rich in servants, men and women, cattle, silver 
and gold, he returned from Egypt to Canaan. Lot, his 
nephew, had been with him, and shared his prosperity; 



22 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

and it happened that his servants fell into some strife 
with the servants of Abraham. As it was evident that 
their property vras too great for them to dwell together, 
Abraham, though in every respect entitled to deference, 
generously proposed to his nephew to avoid controversy 
by an amicable separation. He offered Lot his choice 
of the territory, on the right or left as it pleased him. A 
rare illustration of meekness and condescension. Lot 
chose to remove to the eastward, and occupy that part of 
the fertile plain of Jordan where Sodom and Gomorrah 
stood. 

After the death of Sarah, Abraham's wife, he took a 
second wife, named Keturah, a Canaanite woman. The 
nation of the Troglodytes were derived from Abraham 
by Keturah, by whom he had six sons, men of courage 
and possessed with sagacious minds — Zambran, Jazar, 
Madan, Madian, Josabak and Sous. The sons of Sous 
were Sabathan and Dadan. The sons of Dadan were 
Latusim, Assur and Luam. The sons of Madian were 
Ephas, Ophren, Anoch, Ebidas and Eldas. For all 
these sons and grandsons, Abraham contrived to settle 
them in colonies: and they took possession of Troglo- 
dytes, and the country of Arabia the Happy, as far as it 
reaches to the Red Sea. It is related of this Ophren, 
that he made war against Libya, and took it, and that 
his grandchildren, when they inhabited it, called it from 
his name, Africa; and, indeed, Alexander Polyhistor 
gives his attestation to what I here assert. He says: 
"Oleodemus, the prophet, who was also called Malchus, 
who wrote a history of the Jews in agreement with the 
history of Moses, their legislator, relates, that there 
were many sons born to Abraham by Keturah; n^y, he 
names three of them — Apher, Surim and Japhran; that 
from Surim was the land of Assyria denominated; and 
that from the other two, Apher and Japhran, the coun- 
try of Africa took its name, because these men were 
auxiliary to Hercules, when he fought against Libya and 
Antaeus; and that Hercules married Aphra's daughter, 
and of her begat Diodorus; and that Sophanx was his 
son, from whom the people called Sophacians were thus 
denominated." Thus we find that Abraham was the fa- 
ther of many nations: Through Ishmael, he was the 



THE HISTORY OF MAN. 23 

progenitor of the nations of Arabia; through the sons 
of Keturah, of the inhabitants of the Troglodytes or Af- 
rica; through Isaac, he possessed Canaan. And the 
whole testimony of history proves these nations colored. 



THE TWO NATIONS OF ISAAC. 

Isaac, the son of Abraham, was forty years old, when 
he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the 
Syrian, Nahor's son, one of Abraham's brothers, (Gen. 
xi. 26, xxiv. 47,) and the sister to Laban the Syrian, of 
Padanaram. The Syrians were blacks, with long, straight 
hair. — (Herodotus, &c. &c. Gen. xxv.) 

And Isaac entreated the Lord for his wife, because 
she was barren; and the Lord was entreated of him, and 
Rebekah his wife conceived. And the children struggled 
together within her; and she said. If it be so, why am I 
thus? And she went to inquire of the Lord. And the 
Lord said unto her. Two nations are in thy womb, and 
two manner of people shall be separated from thy bow- 
els. And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, 
behold there were twins in her womb; and the firstborn 
was red all over, like a hairy garment, and they called 
his name Esau. — (Gen. xxv. 23, 24, 25.) His brother's 
name was Jacob, who was afterwards called Israel. 
[The first clothing worn by the ancients, were hairy 
garments. — " The Lord God made coats of skins, and 
clothed them." — (Gen. iii, 21.) "And they wandered 
about in sheep-skins and goat-skins," ram-skins and 
badger-skins, dyed red. — (Ex. xxv. 5.) Ram-skins dy- 
ed red, were used in the construction of the tabernacle. 
Dr. Clarke has proved, from Homer, Pliny, and modern 
travellers, that there are rams whose natural color is 
red. From this fact, it may be deduced that Esau was 
red all over, like a hairy garment.] Esau became a 
cunning hunter, a man of the field; and was loved of 
Isaac, But he depsised his birthright, and sold it to Ja- 
cob for a mess of red pottage. — (Gen. xxv. 30.) Isaac, 
however, blessed Esau his son, and said unto him, Be- 
hold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and 
of the dew of heaven from above; and by thy sword 



24 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

thou shalt live. — (Gen. xxvii. 39, 40.) A hunter or 
archer, (Gen. xxi. 20,) one who is skillful in the use of 
the bow and arrows, as Esau was. The weapons of war 
formerly used, were the sword, spear, bow and arrow, 
sling, javelin, &c. Esau, the Edomite or Indian, went 
into the field, or wilderness, with his bow and quiver, to 
hunt for venison; and he came in from his hunting, and 
brought wild meat unto Isaac, his father. — (Gen. xxvii.) 



THE GENERATIONS OF ESAU — THE RED PEOPLE. 

Esau, who is Edom, which signifies red. The red 
people. — (Gen. xxv. 30; Josephus.) 

The wives of Esau were Judith, the daughter of Bee- 
ri the Hittite, and Bashemath, and Adah, the daughters 
of Elon the Hittite, and Aholibamah, the daughter of 
*Anah, the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite; and Mahaleth, 
and Bashemath, Ishmael's daughters, Abraham's son, 
sister of Nebajoth. And Adah bare to Esau, Eliphaz; 
and Bashemath bare Reuel; and Aholibamah bare Je- 
ush, and Jalaam, and Hora; these are the sons of Esau 
which were born unto him in the land of Canaan. And 
Esau took his wives, and his sons, and his daughters, 
and all the persons of his house, and his cattle, and all 
his beasts, and all his substance which he had got in the 
land of Canaan, and went into the country from the face 
of his brother, Jacob; for their riches were more than 
that they might dwell together. Thus dwelt Esau in 
Mount Seir. — (Gen. xxxvi.) 

The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zephi, Ga- 
tam and Kenaz; and Timna, sister of Lotan, bare to E- 
liphaz, Amalek. 

The sons of Reuel were Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, 
and Mizzah. 

The son of Zerah was Jebob, king of Edom. — (1 Chr. 
i. 44.) 

These were the descendants of Esau, the father of the 
Edomites, and were dukes of Edom. — Duke, (Gen. 
xxxvi. 15,) means only a chief, or leader, answering to 
the chiefs of tribes of Indians, in America. 

These are the sons of Mount Seir the Horite, who in- 



THE HISTORY OF MAN. 25 

habited the land: Lotan, and Shobal, Zibeon, and Anah 
who was king, and Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan; these are 
the dukes of the Horites, the children of Seir in the land 
of Edom. 

The children of Lotan were Hori and Heman. 

The children of Shabal were Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, 
Shepho, and Anam. 

Ajah and Anah were the sons of Zibeon. 

The children of Anah were Dishon, and Aholibamah, 
the wife of Esau. 

The children of Dishon were Hemdan, and Eshban, 
Ithran and Cheran. 

Bilhan, Zaavan and Akan were the children of Dishan, 



THE PEOPLE OF ETHIOPIA. 

Were not the Ethiopians and Lubims a huge host, [or 
a great army,] with very many chariots and horsemen? 
(2 Chron. xvi. 8.) 

Come up, ye horses, and rage ye chariots, and let 
the mighty men come forth; the Ethiopians and Lybians 
that handle the shield, and the Lydians that handle and 
bend the bow. — (Jer. xlvi. 9.) 

Candace, queen of the Ethiopians of Sheba, came 
with a very great company to Jerusalem.™ (2 Chron. 
ix.: Matt. xii. 42: Acts viii. 27.) 

Tirhakah, king of Ethiopia. — (2 Kings, xii. 9: Isa. 
XXX vii. 9.) 

Ahasuerus, the king, reigned even unto Ethiopia. — 
Esther i. I.) 

Thus saith the Lord, the king of Assyria shall lead 
away the Egyptians prisoners, and the Ethiopian cap- 
tives, young and old, naked and barefoot. — (Isa. xx. 4.) 
[Even as they are led away at this day, naked and bare- 
foot, by Americans.] 

Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hand unto God. — 
(Psalm Ixviii. 31.) 

Repentance and return of Israel unto God, our Savior, 
from beyond the river of Ethiopia. — (Zeph. iii. 9, 10. 

Are ye not as the children of the Ethiopians unto me, 
O children of Israel, saith the Lord. — (Amos ix. 7.) 
3 



26 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

Thus saith the Lord, the labor of Egypt and merchan- 
dize of Ethiopia. — (Isa. xlv. 14.) 

Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya, with shields and helmets. 
Eze. xxxviii. 5.) 

Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength. — (Nah. iii. 9.) 

The land of Ethiopia. — (Gen. ii. 13.) 

The Ethiopians. — (2 Chron. ii. 16.) 

^erah, the Ethiopian, with an host of a thousand 
thousand, and three hundred chariots. — (2 Chr. xiv. 9.) 

Ethiopia — this man was born there. — (Ps. Ixxxvii. 4.) 

Ethiopia — their expectation. — (Isa. xx. 5.) 

The river of Ethiopia. — (Isa. xviii. 1.) 

Ethiopia — for thee. — (Isa. xliii. 3.) 

The Ethiopian. — (Jer. xiii. 23.) 

Ebedmelech, the Ethiopian eunuch, who took up Jer- 
emiah the prophet, out of the pit or dungeon. — (Jer. 
xxxviii., xxxix.) 

The border of Ethiopia. — (Ezek. xxix. 10.) 

Ethiopia, Libya and Lydia, and all the mingled peo- 
ple. — (Eze. XXX. 5.) 

Behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great au- 
thority. — (Acts viii. 27.) 

Herodotus, the great father of history, pronounces the 
Ethiopians the most majestic and beautiful of men. 

The Kenites, or Ethiopians, that came out of the city 
of Hemath, (1 Chron. ii. 55; Num. xxiv. 21,) were the 
descendants of Hobab, Raguel or Jethro, the priest of 
Midian, and the father of Heber the Kenite, and Zippo- 
rah the Ethiopian woman, Moses' wife. The children of 
the Kenites went up out of their city, with the children of 
Judah, into the wilderness of Judah, and dwelt among 
the people. — (Exodus ii. 18, 21; iii. 1, 4, 18; Num. x. 
18, 21 ; xii. 1; Judges iv. 11.) 



THE DESCENDANTS OF EGYPT. 
IsHMAEL. (Gen. xvi. 11.) The son of Abraham, by 
Hagar. The wife of Ishmael was an Egyptian woman, 
for his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt. 
(Gen. xxi. 21.) The names of the sons of Ishmael have 
been heretofore given. 



THE HISTORY OP MAN. 27 

IsHMAELiTEs. (Gen. xxxvii. 25.) The descendants of 
Ishmael. The company of Ishmaelites to whom Joseph 
was sold are elsewhere called Midianites. — (Gen. xxxvii. 
28.) Probably they were Ishmaelites who dwelt in Mid- 
ian. It is evident, however, that the two names were 
sometimes applied to the same people, (Judges viii. 22, 
24,) though we know the descendants of Midian were 
not Ishmaelites, [for Midian was a son of Abraham by 
Keturah.] 

Hagar. (Gen. xvi. 1.) An Egyptian woman, who 
lived in the family of Abraham, as a servant or bond 
woman. Sarah being childless, she proposed to Abra- 
ham that he should receive Hagar as his wife; and the 
fruit of this connection was Ishmael. Previous to his 
birth, his mother, being ill-treated by Sarah, fled from 
the house, and while in the wilderness, was informed by 
an angel what would be the character of her child, and 
that his posterity would be innumerable. The birth of 
Ishmael was in A. M. 2094; and as Abraham supposed 
that the promises of God respecting his seed were to be 
fulfilled in Ishmael, he nurtured him with much care.— 
(Gen. xvii. 18.) 

Agar, or Hagar. This Agar is Mount Sinai, in Ara- 
bia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in 
bondage with her children. — (Gal. iv. 25.) 

Hagarenes, (Ps. Ixxxiii. 6,) or Hagarites, (1 Chron. 
V. 10, 20,) are the descendants of Hagar, and are of 
course the same with the Ishmaelites or Midianites. 

Pharaoh was a king of Egypt, who gave his wife's 
sister in marriage to Hadad. His queen was Tahpenes, 
by whom he had Genubath. 

Hadad. (1 Kings, xi. 14.) A descendant of the royal 
family of Edom. When David conquered that country, 
(2 Sam. viii. 14,) and cut off its male population, certain 
of the king's household escaped the general massacre, 
and fled, taking with them Hadad, then a little child. 
After a time, they went into Egypt, and young Hadad 
was presented to the king, and probably his royal de- 
scent was made known. The king received him with 
great favor, and in process of time he married the queen's 
sister, and the families were afterwards on terms of the 
closest intimacy. After David's death, Hadad request- 



28 ^ LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

ed Pharaoh to let him return to Edom. And this he 
probably did, as we find him mentioned as Hadad the 
Edomite, and the adversary of Solomon.-^ (1 Kings, xi. 
14 — 22.) 

Alexandrians. A class of Jews, natives of Alexan- 
dria, a city of Egypt in Africa, and speaking that lan- 
guage. They were very numerous at Jerusalem. — (Acts 

Yi. 9.) 

Bernice, (Acts xxv. 13, 23,) or Berenice, as the name 
is sometimes spelled, was the daughter of Agrippa, sur- 
named the Great, and sister to the younger Agrippa, 
king of the Jews. She was first betrothed to Mark, son 
of Alexander, governor of the Jews at Alexandria. She 
however married her own uncle, Herod, king of Chal- 
cis. After his death, she married Poiemon, king of 
Pontus, but abandoned him, and, returning to Agrippa, 
her brother, lived with him in incest. They sat with 
pomp to hear Paul preach. (Acts xxv.) 

Joseph, (Gen. xxx. 24,) son of Jacob and Rachel, was 
born in Mesopotamia, A. M. 225G, and married the 
daughter of one of the priests or princes of Egypt, and 
had two children, Manasseh and Ephraim. 

Manasseh. (Gen. xli. 51.) The first-born of Joseph. 
When he and his brother Ephraim were boys, and Ja- 
cob, their grandfather, was about to die, Joseph took 
them into the patriarch's presence, to receive his bless- 
ing. On this occasion, he adopted them into his own 
family, as his own children, and in a most significant 
and interesting manner, predicted the superiority of 
Ephraim over Manasseh, as it respected numbers, &c. 
(Gen- xlviii. 5—20. Comp. Num. i. 32, 33, 35: ii. 18, 
20: Ps. Ixxx. 2.) 

Ephraim. 1. A person. (Gen. xli. 52.) The second 
son of Joseph. Though younger than Manasseh, he 
was the object of peculiar favor; and the prediction of 
their grandfather Jacob was literally fulfilled. (Comp. 
Gen. xlviii. 8—20: Num. ii. 18, 21.) 

Ephraim. 2. Tribe of — occupied one of the most eli- 
gible sections of the Land of Promise. The Mediterra- 
nean was on the west, and the river Jordan on the east, 
a portion of Manasseh on the north, and parts of Dan 
and Benjamin on the south. The city of Shiloh was 



HISTORY OF MAN. 29 

within the bounds of Ephraim; and after the revolt of 
the ten tribes, the capital of their kingdom was always 
within the bounds of Ephraim; and hence the whole 
kingdom is sometimes called Ephraim. — (Jer. xxxi. 9, 
18,~20.) 

Ephraim. 3. City of — (2 Sam. xiii. 23.) A consid- 
erable town, situated about eight miles north of Jerusa- 
lem, on the way to Jericho, and within the bounds of the 
tribe of Benjamin. It was to this place, that our Savior 
retired after the raising of Lazarus, (John xi. 54,) and it is 
not improbable the same place is intended in2Chr.xiii. 19. 

Zephaniah, (Jer. xxix. 25,) the son of Maasseiah, who 
is called the second priest, was put to death by Nebuchad- 
nezzar, at Riblah. — (2 Kings xxv. 18 — 21.) 

Samuel, an eminent prophet, born at Ramah, in the 
tribe of Ephraim, and from his birth dedicated by his 
mother to God's service. — (1 Sam. iii. 1.) 

Jarha married the daughter of Sheshan. [And She- 
shan had a servant, an Egyptian, whose name was Jar- 
ha. And Sheshan gave his daughter to Jarha his ser- 
vant to wife; and she bare him Attai. And Attai begat 
Nathan, and Nathan begat Zabad, and Zabad begat 
Ephlal, and Ephlal begat Obed, and Obed begat Jehu, 
and Jehu begat Azariah, and Azariah begat Helez, and 
Helez begat Eleasah, and Eleasah begat Sisamai, and 
Sisamai begat Shallum, and Shallum begat Jekamiah, 
and Jekamiah begat Elishama.] — (1 Chron. ii. 35 — 41.) 

Solomon, the king, was building his own house thirteen 
years; and he finished all his house for Pharaoh's daugh- 
ter, whom he had taken to wife. Pharaoh, king of 
Egypt, went up and took the city of Gezer from the Ca- 
naanites, and gave it for a present unto his daughter, 
Solomon's wife. Ahimaaz was in Napthali; he took 
Basmath, the daughter of Solomon, to v^ife. The son of 
Abinadab, in all the region of Dor; which had Taphath, 
the daughter of Solomon, to wife. — ( i Kings, chap. 4, 7, 9.) 

Tahpenes, the queen, was the wife of Pharaoh; and 
the sister of Tahpenes was the wife of Hadad, to whom 
she bare Genubath; and Genubath was in Pharaoh's 
household, among the sons of Pharaoh. — (I Kings xi. 14.) 

David — king of Israel — whose sister was Abigail, 
the wife of Jether the Ishmaelite; and she bare Amasa. 
(I Chron. ii. 17.) 



30 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

THE GENERATIONS OF JACOB. 

Jacob, the second son of Isaac, and founder of the 
Jewish nation, was born, A. M. 2167. Jacob's wives 
were Rachel and Leah, the daughters of Laban, (Gen. 
xxviii. 2,) the brother of Rebekah. And the Lord said 
unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to 
thy kindred, and I will be with thee. And Jacob sent 
and called Rachel and Leah to the field, unto his flock, 
and said unto them, I see your father's countenance, that 
it is not towards me as before; but the God of my father 
hath been with me. And Rachel and Leah answered 
and said unto him. Is there yet any portion or inherit- 
ance for us in our father's house? Are we not counted 
of him strangers? For he hath sold us, and hath quite 
devoured also our money. For all the riches that God 
hath taken from our father, that is ours, and our chil- 
dren's; now then, whatsoever God hath said unto thee, 
do. Then Jacob rose up, and set his sons and his wives 
upon camels; and he carried away all his cattle, and all 
his goods which he had gotten, the cattle of his getting, 
which he had gotten in Padan-aram, for to go to Isaac 
his father, in the land of Canaan. 

The sons of Jacob were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, 
Issachar, Zebulon, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Ash- 
er and Joseph ; all these were the sons of Jacob, or Is- 
rael, that came with Jacob, their father, out of the land 
of Canaan into Egypt, except Joseph, who was already 
there. The Canaanites, were called by the Greeks, 
Phoenicians and Ethiopians! 

And the children of Israel increased abundantly, and 
waxed exceedingly mighty; they married the daughters of 
Egypt, Ethiopia, &c. — (Genesis; Exodus, i. and xii.) 

The sons of Reuben and their families were Hanoch, 
of whom Cometh the Hanochites ; Pallu, of whom com- 
eth the Palluites ; Hesron, of whom cometh the Hesron- 
ites; Carmi, of whom cometh the Carmites. These are 
the families of the Reubenites, and the number of them 
was forty-three thousand seven hundred and thirty souls. 
— (Gen. xlvi. ; Numbers xxvi ) 

Simeon, the second son of Jacob, was born in the year 
2247. The sons of Simeon, by a Canaanitish or Ethio- 



THE HISTORY OF MAN. 31 

plan woman, and their families, were Jemuel or Nemuel, 
of whom Cometh the Nemuelites; Jemin, of whom com- 
eth the Jeminites; Jachin, of whom cometh the Jachin- 
ites; Ohad, or Zerah, of whom cometh the Zerhites; 
and Shaul, of whom cometh the Shaulites. These are 
the families of the Simeonites, and the number of them 
was twenty-two thousand and two hundred souls. — (Gen. 
xlvi. Num. xxvi.) 

Levi, (Gen. xxix. 34.) third son of Jacob and Leah. 
He was concerned in a bloody affair with the Shechem- 
ites, which occasioned the denunciatory and prophetic 
language of his father respecting him, (Gen. xlix. 5 — 7,) 
and which was fully verified in the history of his poster- 
ity. The opposition of his descendants to the idol-wor- 
ship, which was practised by the others, was the occasion 
of the mitigation of their curse. — (Ex. xxvi. 29.) His 
descendants are called Levites. The sons of Levi, by a 
Canaanitish woman, and their families, were Gershon, 
of whom cometh the Gershonites ; Kohath, of whom 
cometh the Kohathites; and Merari, of whom cometh the 
Merarites. 

The sons of Gershon, and their families, were Libni, 
of whom cometh the Libnites ; and Shimei, of whom 
cometh the Shimeites. 

The sons of Kohath, and their families, were Amram, 
[the father of Moses, Aaron and Miriam,] of whom com- 
eth the Amramites ; Izchar, of whom cometh the Izchar- 
ites; Hebron, of whom cometh the Hebronites; and 
Uzziel, of whom cometh the Uzzielites. 

The sons of Mahari were Mahli, of whom cometh the 
Mahlites ; and Mushi, of whom cometh the Mushites. 

The sons of Judah, by the daughter of Shuah, a Ca- 
naanitish or Ethiopian woman, the grand-daughter of 
Abraham and Keturah, were Er, Onan and Shelah. Er, 
and Onan the husband of Tamar, and after their death, 
Shelah their brother, were promised by Judah to Tamar, 
his daughter in-law. Through Tamar's seed came the 
Messiah. [Gen. xxv. 28; iChron. ii. 2; 1749 years B. C] 
The sons of Judah by Tamar were Zerah, [the Ethio- 
pian,] of whom cometh the Zarhites ; and Pharez, his 
brother, of whom cometh the Pharezites. These were 
the families of Judah, and the number of them was 



32 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

seventj-six thousand five hundred souls. — (Gen. xxxviii; 
Num. xxvi.; 1 Chron. ii. ; 2 Chron. xiv. 9.) 

Issachar, (Gen. xxx. 18,) was the fifth son of Jacob 
and Leah. The prophetical description of him uttered 
by his father, (Gen. xlix. 14, 15,) was fulfilled in the fact 
that the posterity of Issachar were a laborious people, 
and addicted to rural employments; hardy and patient 
to bear the burdens both of labor and war. The sons 
of Issachar, and their families, were Tola, of whom com- 
eth the Tolaites; Pua, of whom cometh the Punites ; 
Jashub, of whom cometh the Jashubites; Shimron, of 
whom cometh the Shimronites. These were the families 
of Issachar, and the number of them was sixty-four thous- 
and three hundred souls. — (Gen. xlvi.; Num. xxvi.) 

Zebulun, or Zabulon, the sixth son of Jacob by Leah, 
born about A. M. 2,256, from whom sprang one of the 
tribes of Israel. When this tribe came out of Egypt, 
their fighting men amounted to 57,400, commanded by 
Eliab, the son of Elon. They increased 3100 in the 
wilderness. They had their inheritance between the Sea. 
of Galilee and the Mediterranean, and enriched them- 
selves by fisheries, commerce, and the manufacture of 
glass. The sons of Zebulon, and their families, were 
Sered, of whom cometh the Sardites; Elon, of whom 
cometh the Elonites: Jahleel, of whom cometh the Jah- 
leelites. These were the families of Zebulonites, and 
the whole number of them was sixty thousand five hun- 
dred souls. — (Gen. xlvi. 14.; Num. xxvi.) 

Benjamin, (Gen. xxxv. 18,) was the youngest son of 
Jacob and Rachel. His mother died immediately after 
his birth, which took place near Bethlehem, when th© 
family were on their journey from Padan-aram to Ca- 
naan. With her djing breath, she called him Benoni, 
[the son of my sorrow,] but his father gave him the name 
of Benjamin, [the son of my right hand.] The sons of 
Benjamin, and their families, [1732 B. C.] were Belah, 
or Bela, of whom cometh the Belaites; Ashbel of whom 
cometh the Ashbelites; Becher, Gera, Ehi, Rosh; Ahi- 
ram, of whom cometh the Ahiramites; Muppimor Shu- 
phara, of whom cometh the Shuphamites; Huppim or 
Hupham, of whom cometh the Huphamites. The sons 
of Bela, and their families, were Ard, of whom cometh 



THE HISTORY OF MAN. 33 

the Ardites; and Naaman, of whom cometh the Naa- 
manites. These were the families of Benjamin, and the 
number of them was forty-five thousand six hundred souls. 
— (Gen. xlvi. ; Numbers xxvi.) 

Dan, (Gen. xxx. 6,) was the fifth son of Jacob. The 
prediction uttered by Jacob, respecting Dan, (Gen. xlix, 
16, 17.) is variously interpreted. It is probable that the 
elevation of his tribe to an equal rank with the others, 
notwithstanding he was born of a concubine, was fore- 
told in Gen. v. 16; and the residue of the prediction may 
allude to the subtle and crafty disposition of his descend- 
ants. Indeed, we know that Samson, [who was among 
the most noted of them,] was remarkably successful in 
stratagem, (Judg. xiv. 15,) and perhaps the same trait 
was characteristic of their tribe. — (Judg. xviii. 26, 27.) 
The son of Dan was Hushim or Shuham, of whom com- 
eth the Shuhamites. The mother of Hiram, an Ethiopi- 
an king of Tyre, was a daughter of Dan. — (Num. xxvi. 
2 Chron. ii. 14.) 

Naphtali, (Gen. xxx. 8,) or Nephthalim, (Matt. iv. 15,) 
was a son of Jacob, by Bilhah. The sons of Naphtali, 
and their families, were Jahzeel, of whom cometh the 
Jahzeelites; Guni, of whom cometh the Gunites; Jezer, 
of whom cometh the Jezerites; Shillem, of whom com- 
eth the Shillemites ; Huram, or Hiram, was an Ethiopi- 
an king of Tyre, of the tribe of Naphtali. These were 
the families of Naphtali, and the number of them 
was forty-five thousand four hundred souls. — (Gen. xlvi.; 
Num. xxvi.; 1 Kings vii. 14.) 

Gad, (Gen. xxx. 9 — 11 ; Num. i. 25,) was the son of 
Jacob, by Zilpah, Leah's handmaid. The sons of Gad, 
and their families, were Ziphion, or Zephon, of whom 
cometh the Zephonites ; Haggi,* of whom cometh the 
Haggites ; Shuni, of whom cometh the Shunites ; Ez- 
bon, or Ozni, of whom cometh the Oznites ; Eri, of 
whom cometh the Erites; Arod, of whom cometh the 
Arodites; Arela, of whom cometh the Arelites. These 
were. the families of Gad, and the number of them was 
forty thousand five hundred souls.— (Gen. xlvi. Num, 
xxvi.) 



Haggai, the prophet of God. — (Ezra v. 1.) 



3^4 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

The sons of Asher, and their families, were Jimnah, 
or Jimna, of whom cometh the Jimnaites; Ishuah or Je- 
sui, of whom cometh the Jesuites ; Beriah, of whom 
cometh the Beriites ; and Sarah, their sister. The sons 
of Beriah were Heber, of whom cometh the Heberites; 
Malchiel, of whom cometh the Malchielites. These were 
the families of Asher, and the number of them was fifty- 
three thousand four hundred souls. — (Gen. xlvi. ; Num. 
xxvi.) 

The sons of Joseph, and their families, [1745 years 
B. C] by Asenath, the daughter of Potipherah, Priest of 
On, an Egyptian [Ethiopian] woman. [Pharaoh, the 
king, called Joseph's name Zaphnath-paaneah, and made 
him ruler over all the land of Egypt, and gave him to 
wife Asenath.] The sons of Joseph were Manasseh, of 
whom cometh the Manassehites ; Ephraim, of v/hom 
cometh the Ephraimites, The son of Manasseh, by an 
Egyptian woman, was Machir, of whom cometh the Ma- 
chirites. The son of Machir, by the daughter of an 
Egyptian, was Gilead, of whom cometh the Gileadites. 
The sons of Gilead were Jeezer, of whom cometh the 
Jeezerites ; Helek, of whom cometh the Helekites ; As- 
riel, of whom cometh the Asrielites; Shechem, of whom 
cometh the Shechemites ; Shemida, of whom cometh the 
Shemidaites ; Hepher, of whom cometh the Hepherites. 
The son of Hepher was Zelophehad. Zelophehad had 
no sons, but daughters, whose names were Mahlah, No- 
ah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah. These were the famit. 
lies of Manasseh, [Egyptians or Ethiopians,] and the num- 
ber of them was fifty-two thousand seven hundred souls. 
(Gen. & Num.) 

According to the Book of Mormon, [written by Jo- 
seph Smith, Jr.] the people of Nephi, and the remnant 
of the house of Israel, were the descendants of Joseph 
and Ishmael. Thus we discover the account of Lehi, 
the prophet, to be of the genealogy of Joseph, a Caanan- 
ite, and Asenath, an Egyptian woman, [blacks]. The 
sons of Lehi, by Sariah, were four — Laman, Lemuel, 
Sam and Nephi ; and they took the daughters of Ishmael 
for wives, [dark red people]. 

The sons of Ephraim, and their families, by an Egyp- 
tian woman, were Shuthelah, of whom cometh the Shu- 



HISTORY OF MAN. 35 

thalites ; Becher of whom cometh the Bachrites ; Ta- 
han, of whom cometh the Tahanites. The son of Shu- 
thelah was Eran of whom cometh the Eranites ; the men 
of Ephraim and Mt. Ephraim ; Samuel the prophet was 
the son of Elkanah ; Elkanah was the son of Jerohamj 
the son of Eli, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an 
Ephrathite. These were the families of Ephraim, of 
Egypt, and the number of them was thirty-two thousand 
five hundred souls. — (Gen. xlvi. ; Num. xxvi. ; 1 Sam. i.) 

The sons of Amram, and their families, by Jochebad, 
the daughter of Levi, his father's sister, a Canaanitish 
woman, borne to him in Egypt, were Aaron and Moses, 
and his daughter was Miriam, their sister. — (Ex, vi. 20.) 

The sons of Aaron, and their families, by Elisheba, 
the daughter of Amminadab, sister of Naashon, a Ca- 
naanitish woman, were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazer and Ith- 
amar. The son of Eleazer, by one of the daughters of 
Putiel, was Phinehas. These were the families of Aa- 
ron, and the number of them was twenty-three thousand 
males. — (Ex. vi.; Num. iii, 26.) 

The sons of M6ses, the man of God, and their fami- 
lies by Zipporah, the daughter of Reuel, Jethro or Ra- 
guel, an Ethiopian woman, were Gershom, and Eliezer, 
who was of the tribe of Levi. — (1 Chron. xxiii. ; Ex. iii. 
18; Num. x. 29; xii. 9.) The sons of Gershom, whose 
wife was an Egyptian woman, were Shebuel, Libni, Shi- 
ji^mei, Jeahath, Zimmah, Joah, Iddo,* Zerah and Jeaterai. 
Shebuel was the chief ruler of the treasure of the house 
of God, in Jerusalem. (1 Chron. vi. 23^25, ) The 
sons of Shimei, an Ethiopian, were Jahath, Zina, Jeush 
and Beriah ; Jahath was the chief. (1 Chron. xxiii.) — 
And of the sons of Eliezer, Rehabiah was the chief. 
The sons of Rehabiah were Isshiah, Jeshaiah, Joram 
Zichri and Shelomith ; and his brethren were over 
all the treasures of the dedicated things in the house of 
the Lord at Jerusalem. — (1 Chron. xxvi.) These were 
the sons and grandsons of Moses, and Zipporah, an Ethi-» 
opian woman. 



*lddo, the prophet of God, and Zechariah his son, who prophesied ua- 
to the Jews that were in Judah and Jerasalem. in the name of the God o 
Israel. — (2 Chron. xii. 13 j Ezra v. 1 j Zechariah.) 



36 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

The sons of Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father 
in-law, an Ethiopian, were Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, 
Mizzah and Habab the Great, who was as eyes to Moses 
in the wilderness ; and he also had seven daughters. — 
(Ex. ii. 16, 18 ; Num. x. 29 ; 1 Chron. i. 37.) 

The sons of Zerah, the son of Judah, were Zimri, 
Ethan, Heman, Calcal, Dara and Zabdi. The son of 
Ethan was Azariah. — (Josh. vii. 1 ; Chron, ii. 6.) 

The sons of Heman the Great, were Bukkiah, Matha- 
nia, Uzziel, Sherbuel, Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, 
Eliathah, Giddalli, Ramamti, Jeshbekashah, Mallathi, 
Hathir and Mahaziath. God gave unto Heman, the 
king's seer, fourteen sons and three daughters. All 
these were under the hand of their father for singers in 
the house of the Lord, with harps, cornets, flutes, sack- 
buts, dulcimers, cymbals, psalteries, and all kinds of 
music. — (Dan. iii. ; 1 Chron. xxv.) The number of 
singers in the house of God, was two hundred and eighty- 
eight souls. — (1 Chron. xxv. 7.) 

The son of Zabdi was Carmi. The son of Carmi was 
Achan, of the tribe of Judah; he was stoned to death 
for concealing a part of the spoil taken at Jericho. — 
(Josh. vii. 5, 25.) 

Pethahiah, the son of Meshozabeel, of the children of 
Zerah, [the son of Judah,] was at the king's hand in 
all matters concerning the, people. — (Nehemiah xi. 23.) 
Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, (Josh. vii. 1,) of Zerah 
Cometh the families of the Zarhites. — (Num. xxvi. 20.) 
The sons of Zerah, Jeuel, and their brethren were six 
hundred and ninety able men of Israel. — (1 Chron. ix.) 

The sons of Phares, the twin brother of Zerah, the 
Ethiopian, were Hezron, or Esrom, and Humul, and 
among their descendants was Joseph, the husband of 
Mary, unto whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ 
the Lord.— (M'dtt. i. 2.) 

The sons of Hezron, or Esrom, were Jerahmeel, Ram 
and Chelubai. — (1 Chron. ii.; Matt, i.) The son of Ram, 
or Aram, was Amminadab, or Aminabab. The son of 
Amminadab was Nahshan, or Naassan. The son of Nah- 
shan was Salmon. The son of Salmon was Boaz, by 
Rachab. Hemath, the father of the house of Rechabi. 
The men of Rachab. — (1 Chron. ii. 55; iv. 11, 12; 



THE HISTORY OF MAN, S? 



Matt. i. 5.) Hamath was built and inhabited by 
Hamathites, Canaanites, Ethiopians, &c. — [Herodotus.] 

The son of Boaz was Obed, by Ruth, the Moabitish 
woman — the daughter of Pharaoh, a woman of the Mo- 
abites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians and Hittites - — 
a colored people. — (1 Kings, xi, 1; Matt. i. 5.) 

The son of Obed was Jesse, an Ephrathite. The son 
of Jesse was David, the king of nations, whose sister's 
name was Abigail, the descendant of Egypt by Ephraim, 
of the tribe of Joseph. — (Gen. xli. 46: xx; 1 Sam. xvii. 
12; Matt, i.) 

Abigail, David's sister, married Jetherthe Ishmaelite, 
the descendant of Ishmael, an Egyptian. — (Gen. xxi. 25; 
1 Chr. ii. 17.) 

The son of David, by Bath-shua, or Bath-sheba, the 
daughter of Ammiel, or Eliam, was Solomon, of her that 
had been the wife of Uriah the Hittite. — (2 Sam. xi. 3, 
12, 24: 1 Chron. iii. 5.) The Hittites are Canaanites— 
Ethiopians. — [See Grecian historian.] 

Solomon, king of Israel. In his reign there were a 
great number of kings in Africa and Arabia. " Twelve 
kings reigned over the twelve districts called Nomes, in 
Egypt. Solomon had seven hundred wives, princesses; 
daughters of the kings of the Moabites, Ammonites, 
Edomites, Zidonians or Sidonians, and Hittites- — Ethi- 
opian women. "The queen of Ethiopia, or of the 
South, bare Solomon a son;" and his concubines were 
three hundred women, [nobility,] of the Ethiopians and 
Moors. 

The son of Solomon, the Hittite, was Raboam, by 
Naamah, an Ammonitish woman. 

King Solomon married the daughter of Pharaoh, king 
of Egypt; and he gave as a present unto his daughter, 
Solomon's wife, the city of Gezer. And Solomon was 
thirteen years in building his own^house for the daugh- 
ter of Pharaoh, his wife; and he finished it, and she 
came up out of the city of David, unto her house which 
Solomon had built for her, into Jerusalem, the upper 
city; a woman of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, 
Sodinians and Hittites — an Ethiopian woman. — (1 Kings 
iii. 1,7; i. 8, 9; xvi. 24; xi; 2 Chron. xii. 13; Matt, i, 
7; Herodotus, &,c.) 



38 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

Raboam, the son of Solomon, begat Abia, and Abia 
besjat Asa, and Asa begat Josaphat, and Josapbat begat 
Joram, and Joram begat Ozias, and Ozias begat Joa- 
thim, and Joathim begat Achaz, and Achaz begat Eze- 
kias, and Ezekias begat Hezekiah, and Hezekiah begat 
Manasses, and Manasses begat Amon, and Amon begat 
Josias, and Josias begat Jechonias, and Jechonias begat 
Salathiel, and Salathiel begat Zorobabel, and ZorobabeJ 
begat Abiud, and Abiud begat Eliakim, and Eliakim 
begat Azor, and Azor begat Sadoc, and Sadoc begat 
Achirn, and Achirn begat Eliud, and Eliud begat Elea- 
zer, and Eleazer begat Matthan, and Matthan begat 
Jacob, and Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of 
whom was born Jesus who is called Christ the Lord. 

The sons of Joseph were James, Joses, Simon or 
Salome, and Judas. — (Matt. xiii. 55; Mark vi. 3; xv, 
40.) • 

These were the descendants of ancient Jacob or Is- 
rael, who was willing to give his daughters unto the 
sons of the Hivites and all the Ethiopian nations of the 
country, at their request, and to take unto themselves 
their daughters in exchange, providing every male of 
them would be circumcised, that they might become one 
people under tjie covenant of grace and works made by 
God unto Israel. — (Gen. xxxiv. 21, 22.) 

The cities of Tyre and vSidon were (bunded by blacks, 
who were the same with the Canaanites, and spoke the 
Hebrew language. — (Matt. xv. 21-28.) [Then Jesus 
went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and 
Sidon. And behold a woman of Canaan came out of 
the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have 
mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter 
is grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered her 
not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, 
saying, Send her away, for she crieth after us. But he 
answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep 
of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped 
him, saying. Lord, help me. But he answered and said. It 
is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to 
dogs. And she said. Truth, Lord; yet the dogs eat of the 
crumbs which fall from their master's table. Then 
Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is 



HISTORY OF MAN. 39 

thy faith; be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And 
her daughter was made whole from that very hour.] 

Sarepta was a city of Sidon. [Thus saith the Lord, 
I tell you of a truth, Many widows were in Israel in the 
days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years 
and six months, when great famine was throughout all 
the land; but unto none of them was Elias sent, save 
unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was 
a widow.] — (Luke iv. 25, 26.) 

The Q,ueen of the South, or Sheba, daughter of 
Jokshan, and grand-daughter of Abraham by Keturah, 
(Gen. XXV. 2, 3; 1 Kings, x. 2; Chron. ix; Matt. xii. 
42; Acts viii. 27;) came from Ethiopia — -or, in the lan- 
guage of Scripture, from the uttermost parts of the 
earth — to Jerusalem, with a very great company, to 
hear and see all the wisdom of Solomon. She desired 
to try him in allegories or parables, in which he had 
been instructed by Nathan. The annals of Abyssinia 
say that she was a pagan when she left Sheba or Azab, 
but being filled with admiration at the sight of Solomon's 
works, she became a proselyte to Judaism, while at Je- 
rusalem. She likewise bore Solomon a son, whom she 
called Menilek, and carried him with her in her return to 
Sheba. After the lapse of a few years, Menilek was 
sent back to Solomon, for education; nor did his father 
neglect his charge, but had him thoroughly instructed 
in the Jewish religion. Menilek was crowned king of 
Ethiopia, in the temple at Jerusalem, 

It is certain that circumcision, the observance of the 
seventh day, and a number of other Jewish rites, are 
practised by the Ethiopians to this very day; and it is 
indisputable that their kings are descended in a direct 
line from Solomon. It is probable that this powerful 
nation — the Ethiopians of Abyssinia — were conquered 
by Shishak, about the time of the civil wars in Egypt. 

The celebrated Joash, the king of Israel, reigned forty 
years in Jerusalem^ His mother's name was Zibiah, of 
Beer-sheba, or Sheba, a city or country of the Sabeans. 
— (Gen. X. 7; 2 Chron. xxiv.) 



LIGHT AND TRUTH. 



CHAPTER II. 



ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. 



CITIES OF ETHIOPIA. 

Ethiopian is a name derived from the ^'Land of Ethi- 
opia," the first settled country 'before the flood. "The 
second river that went out of Eden, to water the 
garden, or earth, was Gihon; the same that encom- 
passeth the whole land, or country, of Ethiopia.^'' — 
(Gen. ii. 13.) Here Adam apd his posterity built 
their tents, and tilled the ground. — (Gen. iii. 23, 24.) 

The first city was Enoch, built before the flood, in 
the land of Nod, on the east of Eden — a country now 
called Arabia. Cain, the son of Adam, went out of 
Eden, and dwelt in the land of Nod. We suppose, ac- 
cording to an ancient custom, he married his sister; and 
she bare Enoch. And Cain built a city, and called the 
name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch. 
(Gen. iv. 16, 17.) We know there must have been 
more than Cain and his son Enoch in the land of 
Nod, to build a city, but who were they } ^ ^ ^ ^ 
[Malcom's Bible Dictionary.] 

The first great city described in ancient and sacred 
history was built by the Cushites, or Ethiopians. They 
surrounded it with walls, which, according to Rollin, 
were 87 feet in thickness, 350 feet in height, and 480 
furlongs in circumference. And even this stupendous 
work they shortly after eclipsed by another, of which 



ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. 41 

Diodorus says, "Never did any city come up to the 
greatness and magnificence of this." 

It is a fact well attested by history, that the Ethiopi- 
ans once bore sway, not only in all Africa, but over almost 
all Asia; and it is said that even two continents could not 
afford field enough for the expansion of their energies. 
*' They found their way into Europe, and built a city 
on the western coast of Spain, called by them Iberian 
Ethiopia." '*And," says a distinguished writer, " wher- 
ever they went, they were rewarded for their wisdom.''^ 

The Tower of Babel. ^ — Nimrod, the son of Cush, 
an Ethiopian, attempted to build the Tower of Babel. — 
(Gen. X. 8-10; xi. 4-9.) One hundred and two years 
after the flood, in the land of Shinar — an extensive and 
fertile plain, lying between Mesopotamia on the west, 
and Persia on the east, and watered by the Euphrates — 
mankind being all of one language, one color, and one 
religion — they agreed to erect a tower of prodigious 
extent and height. Their design was not to secure 
themselves against a second deluge, or they would have 
built their tower on a high mountain; but to get them- 
selves a famous character, and to prevent their disper- 
sion by the erection of a monument which should be 
visible from a great distance. No quarries being found 
in that alluvial soil, they made bricks for stone, and 
used slime for mortar. Their haughty and rebellious 
attempt displeased the Lord; and after they had worked, 
it is said, twenty-two years, he confounded their lan- 
guage. This effectually stopped the building, procured 
if the name of Babel, or Confusion, and obliged some of 
the offspring of Noah to disperse themselves and replen- 
ish the world. The tower of Babel was in sight from 
the great city of Babylon. Nimrod was a hunter and 
monarch of vast ambition. When he rose to be king of 
Babylon, he re-peopled Babel, which had been desolate 
since the confusion of tongues; but did not dare to 
attempt the finishing of the tower. The Scriptures 
inform us, he became "mighty upon earth;" but the 
extent of his conquests is not known. — [Malcom's Bible 
Dictionary.] 

The private houses, in most of the ancient cities, 
were simple in external appearance; but exhibited in 
. 4 



42 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

the interior all the splendor and elegance of refined 
luxury. The floors were of marble; alabaster and gild- 
ing were displayed on every side. In every great house 
there were several fountains, playing in magnificent 
basins. The smallest house had three pipes — one for 
the kitchen, another for the garden, and a third for 
washing. The same magnificence was displayed in the 
mosques, churches and coffee houses. The environs 
presented, at all seasons of the year, a pleasing verdure, 
and contained extensive series of gardens and villas. 

The Great and Splendid City of Babylon. — This 
city was founded by Nimrod, about 2247 years B. C, in 
the land of Shinar, or Chaldea, and made the capital of 
his kingdom. It was probably an inconsiderable place, 
until it was enlarged and embellished by Semiramis; it 
then became the most magnificent city in the world, 
surpassing even Nineveh in glory. The circumference 
of both these cities was the same ; but the walls which 
surrounded Babylon were twice as broad as the walls of 
Nineveh, and having 100 brass gates. The city of Bab- 
ylon stood on the river Euphrates, by which it was 
divided into two parts, eastern and western; and these 
were connected by a cedar bridge of wonderful construc- 
tion, uniting the two divisions. Quays of beautiful mar- 
ble adorned the banks of the river; and on one bank 
stood the magnificent Temple of Belus, and on the other 
the Queen's Palace. These two edifices were connected 
by a passage under the bed of the river. This city was 
at least 45 miles in circumference; and would of course 
include eight cities as large as London and its append- 
ages. It was laid out in 625 squares, formed by the 
intersection of 25 streets at right angles. The walls, 
which were of brick, were 350 feet high, and 87 feet 
broad. A trench surrounded the city, the sides of 
which were lined with brick and water-proof cement. 
This city was famous for its hanging gardens, con- 
structed by one of its kings, to please his queen. She 
was a Persian, and was desirous of seeing meadows 
on mountains, as in her own country. She prevailed 
on him to raise artificial gardens, adorned with mead- 
ows and trees. For this purpose, vaulted arches were 
raised from the ground, one above another, to an almost 



ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. 43 

inconceivable height, and of a magnitude and strength 
sufficient to support the vast weight of the whole gar- 
den. Babylon was a great commercial city, and traded 
to all parts of the earth then known, in all kinds of mer- 
chandize; and she likewise traded in slaves, and the 
souls of men. For her sins she has been blotted from 
existence — even her location is a matter of supposition. 
Great was Babylon of old; in merchandize did she trade, 
and in souls. For her sins she thus became blotted 
from the sight of men. 



THE KINGDOM OF ASSYRIA. 

The foundation of the Assyrian Empire was laid by 
Asshur, the second son of Shem, and the grandson of 
Noah, about 2229 years B. C. Its name was derived 
from that of its founder. 

Mr. Rollin, and other writers, state that Nimrod, the 
son of Cush, or Belue of the ancients, was placed over 
Assyria, and afterwards made himself master of the 
country. By the moderation of his government, he be- 
came very popular among his new subjects. He built 
several cities. Belue, according to the statements of 
some writers, was the same with Nimrod, the great 
grandson of Noah. Belue was succeeded by Ninus, in 
honor of whom Nineveh had received its name. And he, 
in gratitude to his father, obliged his subjects to pay di- 
vine honors to the memory of Belue, who was probably 
the first king that the people deified, on account of his 
great actions. Ninus appears to have been the first 
prince who united the spirit of conquest with political 
science. He divided the Assyrian Empire into provinces ; 
and instituted three councils and three tribunals, by 
which the government was administered and justice dis- 
tributed. 

Ninus, the successor of Asshur, is said to have united 
the kingdoms of Assyria and Babylon. He made war 
upon many of the nations, for the sake of extending his 
empire. He reduced the greater part of Asia, and to- 
tally subdued the northern province of Persia, now 
known by the name of Corassan. After this, he rebuilt 



44 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

'Nineveh, and married Semiramis, a female conqueror 
and able sovereign, who could assemble 200,000 men; 
and by her had a son, named Ninyas. Semiramis as- 
sumed the sovereign power during the minority of her 
son. She swayed the sceptre with great dignity, for the 
space of forty years. She enlarged her empire, and vis- 
ited every part of her vast domains. She built cities in 
various districts of the Assyrian kingdom, and cut roads 
through mountains, in order to make the intercourse be- 
tween the provinces easy. — [Assyrian Chronology.] 

The early history of Assyria is involved in obscurity. 
We know from the sacred history that it was a powerful 
nation. (Num. xxiv. 22.) And its capital was one of 
the most renowned of the eastern world. — [See Nine- 
veh.] It fell into the hands of the Modes; the monar- 
chy was divided between them and the Babylonians, and 
the very name of Assyria was thenceforth forgotten. — 
[See Geography of the Bible, page 24.] 

AccAD. (Gen. x. 10.) A city in Shinar, built by Nim- 
rod. Modern travellers have intimated the probability 
that the ruins of this ancient city are to be seen about 
six miles from the present Bagdad. 

The present city of Bagdad stands upon the site of 
Seleucia. It was founded A. D. 762, by the Saracens, 
and continued to be the seat of their Caliphs for 500 years. 
It then experienced various changes, till A. D, 1638, 
when it fell into the hands of the Turks, who still retain it. 
Though greatly reduced from the splendor and size it 
had when under the Saracens, it still enjoys a great trade, 
especially to Persia; and has a population of 20,000 in- 
habitants. 

The great city of Hamath was founded by the descend- 
ants of Ham. [Pass ye unto Calneh, and see; and 
from thence go ye to Hamath, the great. ] — ^(Gen. xi. 18; 
Amos V. 2; 2 Kings xvii. 24; 2 Chron. viii. 4.) 

The city of Riblah, in the land of Hamath, where 
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, gave judgment against 
Zedekiah, king of Judah, and slew Zedekiah's sons be- 
fore his eyes. Also the king of Babylon slew all the 
nobles of Judah in Riblah, and bound Zedekiah with 
chains, and carried him to Babylon. — (Jer. xxxix. 5-7.) 

Calneh, (Gen. x. 10; Amos vi. 2.) One of the cities 



ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. 45 

of Babylonia, built by Nimrod, and supposed" to be the 
same with Cahio, (Isa. x. 9,) Canneh, (Ezek. xxvii, 23,) 
and the Ctesiphon of more modern times. It was situa- 
ted on the east bank of the Tigris, opposite to Babylon, 
and was a place of commercial importance. 

Carchemish. (2 Chron. xxxv. 20.) A town on the 
eastern bank of the Euphrates, the Chebar, or Kha- 
boor, falls into it. It is now known as Kirkisia. It was 
taken from the Assyrians by the king of Egypt, (2 Kings 
xxiii. 29,) who left it in charge of a garrison. Nebu- 
chadnezzar, king of Babylon, afterwards took it from the 
Egyptians, with great slaughter, in fulfilment of the re- 
markable prophecy of Jeremiah. — (Jer. xlvi. 1—12.) 

Erech. (Gen. x. 10.) A city of Chaldea, built by 
Nimrod, on the Tigris. It was called Erecca and Arac- 
ca, by the Greeks and Romans. Some have supposed 
there were two places of this name; and others, that 
Erech was the same with Edessa, [now Orfah,] in north- 
ern Mesopotamia. 

Halah. (2 Kings xvii. 6; xviii. 11.) A province of 
Assyria, supposed by some, to be the same with Calah, 
(Gen. x. 12,) and with Holwan, or Cholwan, of the mod- 
ern Arabs. 

Haran. a town standing on a small river of the same 
name, which flowed into the Euphrates through the north- 
western part of Mesopotamia. It was called after the 
eldest brother of Abraham. Near this town occurred 
the celebrated defeat, by the Parthians, of the Roman 
army under Crassus, who was slain, with 20,000 of his 
men, B. C. 53. The place still retains its ancient name, 
and is peopled by a few Arabs. 

The city of Nineveh, (Jonah iii. 6,) the capital of As- 
syria, (2 Kings xix. 36,) and rival of Babylon, was situ- 
ated on the Tigris, north-east of Babylon, probably near 
the modern village of Nania, opposite to Mosul. It sig- 
nifies the divelling of JYinus, and therefore we may pre- 
sume was founded by Nimrod, also called Ninus, after 
his son, though some regard Asshur as the founder. Ac- 
cording to Diodorus Siculus, Nineveh became one of the 
largest cities in the world. It was 19 miles in length, 
and 1 1 in breadth, and from 48 to 50 miles in circumfer- 
ence, [as may be inferred from Jonah's account, (Jonah 



46 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

iii. 3,) confirmed by that of Strabo,] and contained a 
population of 600,000. — (Jonah iv. 11.) It was sur- 
rounded by a wall 100 feet high, and wide enough for 
three carriages to go abreast; it was fortified by 1500 
towers, of 200 feet in height. For its luxury and wick- 
edness, the judgments of God fell upon it. — (Nahum iii. - 
1; Zeph. ii: 13-15.) In the twenty-ninth year of the 
reign of Josiah, king of Judah, Nineveh was utterly de- 
stroyed by the Medes. It was afterwards partially re- 
built, but never became considerable, and was finally 
destroyed by the Saracens, in the seventh century. It 
is now called Mosul, and is only famous for being the 
residence of the patriarch of the Nestorians. 

Rezeph. (2 Kings xix. 12.) Probably it stood where 
Arsoffa now is, from 20 to 30 miles west of the Euphra- 
tes. Rabshakeh mentions it among the cities conquered 
by the Assyrians. — (Isa. xxxvii. 12.) 

The city of Seleucia was situated 45 miles southward, 
on the banks of the Tigris. It was sometimes called 
New Babylon. It became the capital of Babylonia, and 
in time utterly supplanted the old city. 

Sepharvaim, or Sepharvites. They seem to have 
originally dwelt north of Media, or about Siphora, on the 
river Euphrates. Sennacherib, king of Assyria, ravag- 
ed the country about the days of Hezekiah, and after 
destroying great numbers, colonized most of the remain- 
der in Canaan, where they at length became a tribe of 
Samaritans. 

Tigris was founded by Ninus, the son of Nimrod, who 
began his reign, according to Usher, A. M. 2737. 

Telabib — a city or district between the rivers Che- 
bar and Saocoras. — (Ezek. iii. 15.) 

Ur — an ancient city of Chaldea, or Mesopotamia, 
where Terah and Abraham dwelt. — (Gen. xv. 7.) 



THE KINGDOM OF ETHIOPIA. 

Ethiopia. (Acts viii. 27.) The Hebrew word Cush, 
which is here and elsewhere translated Ethiopia, seems 
to have been applied to at least three distinct countries. 

The Cushites were the descendants of Cush. Calmet 



ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. 47 

believes that a colony of Cushites settled in the northern 
part of Assyria on the Araxes — the present Aras or 
Araxis — a river which rises near the Euphrates and falls 
into the Caspian sea. Gihon, (Gen. ii. 13,) one of the 
rivers of Eden, was supposed by some to be the Araxes, 
which empties into the Caspian sea. Gihon signifies im- 
petuous; and this is the course of the Araxes. 

In Zeph. iii. 10, where the prophet speaks of Judah's 
return from captivity, it refers probably to the country 
east of the Tigris, the principal seat of the captivity, 
which is called Cuthah. — (2 Kings xvii. 24. Comp. Ps. 
Ixviii. 31 and Isa. xviii.) Profane writers call this coun- 
try Ethiopia, or Cush, from which the modern name 
Khusistan is derived. 

In Num. xii. l,the word Ethiopia is applied to a country 
of'southern Arabia, lying along the Red Sea, elsewhere 
called Cushan, (Hab. iii. 7,) in which last passage allusion 
is made to the portion of history recorded in Num. xxxi. 

Ethiopia, (Isa. xi. 11,) a country in Arabia Petrea, 
bordering on Egypt, of which Zipporah, the wife of Mo- 
ses, was a native. 

Ethiopian Empire. South of Egypt there was once 
a very large empire, consisting of 45 kingdoms, accord- 
ino; to Pliny. The region is very mountainous. In it 
were two noted cities, Axuma and Meroe, which could 
furnish at least 250,000 soldiers, and 400,000 who were 
artificers, manufacturers and forgers. Some of these 
mountains abound in salt, others in iron, copper, gold, 
&c. The chief river of Ethiopia is the Nile; it receives 
most of the inferior streams of that region, and is great- 
ly swollen by the immoderate showers that fall in Ethio- 
pia, in the months of June and July. The middle por- 
tion of Ethiopia, called Lower Ethiopia, was very little 
known to the Europeans; it was computed to contain 
1,200,000 square miles. Abyssinia, or Upper Ethiopia, 
is about 900 miles in length, and 800 in breadth. 

The northern part of Ethiopia was called by the He- 
brews, Seba, (Isa. xliii. 3,) after the eldest son of Cush, 
(Gen. x. 7,) and by the Romans, Meroe. The inhabi- 
tants are said to have been men of stature, (Isa. xlv. 14,) 
and this is confirmed by an eminent Greek historian, 
who says they are "the tallest of men." 



48 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

The Ethiopian queen Candace [which, as profane his- 
torians say, was the common name of the queens of that 
country,] reigned in Seba. Her treasurer was baptized^ 
by Philip, (Acts viii. 27.) There is a version of the 
scriptures in the Ethiopian tongue. 

The Kingdom of Abyssinia, India, or Ethiopia. In 
the days of Ahasuerus, the king, it was called India; 
(Esther i. 1,) for Ahasuerus reigned from India even un- 
to Ethiopia, or from Abyssinia, [see map of Africa, ^ 
over an hundred and seven and twenty provinces, [coun- 
tries.] 

Saba was a royal city of Ethiopia, which Cambyses 
afterwards named Meroe, from his own sister. This city 
was encircled by the rivers Nile and Astrapus, and en- 
closed by strong walls. [Strabo.] 

GoNDAR was a city of Abyssinia, situated on a very 
high hill, surrounded by a high wall and deep valley. 
Population 50,000. 

Diodorus Siculus-, an ancient historian, informs us, that 
"the Ethiopians consider the Egyptians as one of their 
colonies." 



THE KINGDOM OF EGYPT. 

Egypt, her cities, and the descendants of Ham. 
— Ham, (Gen. ix. 22,) the son of Noah. He had four 
sons, one of whom was the ancestor of the Canaanites. 
The empires of Assyria and Egypt were founded by the 
descendants of Ham; and the republics of Tyre, Zidon 
and Carthage were for ao-es the monuments of their com- 
mercial enterprise and prosperity. Africa, in general, 
and Egypt in particular, are called the land of Ham, (Ps. 
Ixxviii. 51; cv. 23; cvi. 22.) A place east of the Jor- 
dan, called Ham, is mentioned, in Gen. xiv. 5. 

Egypt (Ex. i. 1,) was one of the most ancient and in- 
teresting countries on the face of the earth. The foun- 
dation of the kingdom of Egypt is ascribed to Menes, 
2183 years B. C. In the Old Testament, the Hebrew 
word translated Egypt is Mizraim, which was the name 
of one of the sons of Ham, (Gen. x. 6,) the founder of 
the nation. It is sometimes called Ham, (Ps. Ixxviii. 



ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. 49 

51; cv. 23, 27; cvi. 22,) and also Rahab, (Ps. Ixxxvii. 
4; Ixxxix. 10; Isa. li. 9.) The Arabs now call it Mizr. 

Misraim, the grandson of Ham, led colonies into Egypt, 
from Babylon, which lasted 1663 years. Menes, who 
was a descendant from Ham, united several independent 
principalities, which thenceforth became one monarchy 
under him. The States he united were Thebes, Thin, 
Memphis and Tanaris. Under his government, Egypt 
made rapid progress in civilization and the arts and 
sciences. 

The inhabitants of Lower Egypt were colonies from 
Syria and Arabia — men of various tribes — originally 
shepherds and fishermen — who were gradually consoli- 
dated into one nation. 

Egypt is bounded on the east by the Red Sea and the 
Isthmus of Suez; on the south by Ethiopia; on the west 
by Lybia; and on the north by the Mediterranean Sea. 
(Ezek. xxix. 10; xxx. 6.) It anciently comprehended 
an incredible number of cities, and was remarkably pop- 
ulous. 

The Nile runs from south to north, through the whole 
country, about 200 leagues; and the country is enclosed 
by ridges of mountains on each side. 

The greatest breadth of Egypt is from Alexandria to 
Damietta — being about 50 leagues. 

Ancient Egypt may be divided into three principal 
parts: Upper Egypt, otherwise called Thebais, which 
was the most southern part; Middle Egypt, or Heptano- 
mis, so called from its seven names; and Lower Egypt, 
which included what the Greeks called Delta, and all the 
country as far as the Red Sea, and along the Mediterra- 
nean to Rhinocolura, or Mt. Casius. Strabo stated that, 
under Sesostris, all Egypt became one kingdom, and was 
divided into 36 governments, or Nomi: 10 in Thebais, 
10 in Delta, and 16 in the intermediate country. The 
cities of Syene and Elephantina divided Egypt from Ethi- 
opia. 

The Egyptians extended their reputation by other 
means than conquest. Egypt loved peace, because it 
loved justice; and maintained soldiers only for its secu- 
rity. She became known by her sending colonies into 
all parts of the world, and with them laws and civiliza- 



50 LIGHT AND TRUTH, 

tion. She triumphed by the wisdom of her councils, and 
the superiority of her knowledge; and this empire of the 
mind appeared more noble and glorious to them than that 
which is achieved by arms and conquest. But neverthe- 
less Egypt has given birth to illustrious conquerors. 

A portion of the Egyptians seem to have been the de- 
scendants of Abraham, by Hagar; and of Esau, by 
Bashemath, the daughter of Ishmael. 



THE CITIES OF EGYPT. 

Alexandria. A celebrated city in Lower Egypt, sit- 
uated between Lake Mareotis and the western branch of 
the Nile, near its mouth, 125 miles north-west of Grand 
Cairo. It was founded by Alexander the Great, from 
whom it had its name, B. C. 331. It vied almost in mag- 
nificence with the ancient cities of Egypt, and for a long 
time was the seat of learning and commerce. Among 
the monuments of its ancient grandeur are Pompey's Pil- 
lar, 75 feet high, two obelisks, and the Catacombs. In 
the height of its splendor it is said to have contained 
600,000 inhabitants.— [Rollin.] 

Its commerce extended to every part of the then known 
world. The Ptolemies made it their royal residence; 
and each successive monarch labored to embellish it. 
When the Romans, at the death of Cleopatra, B. C. 26, 
annexed Egypt to their empire, they respected and pre- 
served the beauties of this city and it continued to flour- 
ish. In a ship belonging to Alexandria, Paul sailed for 
Rome, (Acts xxvii. 6.) Christianity was early planted 
in this place. Mark is said to have founded the church 
here, A. D. 60, and was here martyred, A. D. 68. Here 
ApoUos was born, (Acts xviii. 24.) Numerous Jews 
resided here, engaged in trade and commerce, 50,000 
of whom were murdered under the Emperor Nero. Clem- 
ens Alexandrinus, Origen, Athanasius, and other emi- 
nent ministers flourished here. Under the Saracens, who 
conquered it A. D. 646, it soon began to decay. They 
stupidly burnt its famous library of 700,000 volumes. 
The famous version of the Old Testament, called the Sep- 
tuagint, was made here nearly 300 years B. C. It then 



ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. 51 

contained 4000 baths and 400 theatres. It is now dwin- 
dled to a village, with nothing remarkable but the ruins 
of its ancient grandeur. — [Malcom's Bible Dictionary.] 

Modern Alexandria is built of the ruins of the ancient 
city, and contains a population of 15,000. 

The city of Abydos, or the Buried City, was so called 
by the Arabs, from its being beneath the surface of the 
ground. The traveller enters it by an excavation made 
for the especial purpose, assisted by his guide, and de- 
scending, finds himself within the ruins of a large city, 
with broad streets, temples of worship, and dwellings ex- 
cavated in the solid rock. The extent of Abydos is sup- 
posed to be three or four miles; but it has never been 
thoroughly explored by travellers. The question has been 
started, whether this city was originally built above 
ground, and sunk by some great convulsion of nature, or 
built originally beneath the surface, as it appears at the 
present time. Mr. Buckingham thought it could hardly 
have been sunk, as the walls of the buildings retain their 
firmness and perpendicularity. He therefore thought 
that it was originally built where it now stands. Neither 
did he think it had been buried by a whirlwind from the 
desert, as some had supposed, because the soil which 
covered it was not of sand, but of clay. He thought it 
probable that it had been built as an appendage to the 
great Labyrinth, to assist in initiating the priests into the 
rites and mysteries of their calling, and furnishing them 
with the means of rehearsing, in an uninhabited city, the 
parts which they would be called upon to enact in public. 

The ancient cities of Bubastis [or city of Isis,] and 
Heliopolis [or city of Osiris, or the Sun,] where the 
mythological rites of the Egyptians were performed, 
were remarkable for being seats of religious ceremonies. 
The resemblance between the mythology of Egypt and 
that of India were very striking. The festivals were 
very similar — particularly the illuminations, for which 
Bubastis was celebrated. This city, in the magnificence 
of its illuminations, surpassed all the other Egyptian cit- 
ies. There was also an annual festival of lamps in Hin- 
dostan — when all classes sent forth on the Ganges their 
lamps of various kinds, according to their different sta- 
tions and means, which were carried down into the dis- 



52 ' LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

tant ocean. When illuminated with many thousands of 
lamps, some of which were of the most costly kind, and 
variegated, the Ganges presented a most brilliant, pic- 
turesque and interesting spectacle. 

Grand Cairo. Cairo is the great metropolitan city 
of Egypt. It is situated about 120 miles from the sea, 
20 miles south of the Delta, and three miles from the 
bank of the Nile. It is about ten miles in circumference, 
and compactly built, of an irregular form, having many 
sides, and streets, lanes and alleys running in every di- 
rection, and marvellously crooked. The population is 
variously estimated, but cannot be certainly determined, 
as a strong prejudice exists among the Mahometans, a- 
gainst numbering the people, originating in their gloomy 
doctrines of fatality. It probably contains, howevel*, 
about 600,000 inhabitants; although some travellers es- 
timate its population at a million. The citadel is a large 
fort, situated on a high rock; admirably chosen for 
strength, and might have been considered impregnable 
before the discovery of gunpowder. In the citadel is the 
palace of Mehemet Ali, the present Pacha of Egypt, and 
his beautiful gardens and public squares. In the out- 
skirts of the city is the "Place of Ezebekeeah," a large 
open space, which is used as a promenade by the inhab- 
itants, where sometimes 10,000 of them are seen enjoy- 
ing themselves in various amusements. During the in- 
undation of the Nile, this Place of Ezabekeeah is over- 
flowed by means of a canal, the flood gates of which are 
opened; and on the following day the lake is covered 
with hundreds of highly ornamented boats and gondolas, 
which are filled with the citizens of Cairo, presenting a 
brilliant spectacle, enlivened with a variety of melodious 
music. 

Grand Cairo, which seems to have succeeded Mem- 
phis, was built on the other side of the river. The cas- 
tle of Cairo is one of the greatest curiosities in Egypt. 
It stands on a hill without the city, has a rock for its 
foundation, and is surrounded with walls of avast height 
and solidity. ■ You go up to the castle by a way hewn 
out of the rock, and which is so easy of ascent that loaded 
horses and camels get up without difficulty. The great- 
est rarity in this castle is Joseph's well, so called, either 



ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. 53 

because the Eg)'ptians are pleased with ascribing their 
most remarkable works to that great man, or because 
there is really such a tradition in the country. This is 
a proof, at least, that the work in question is very an- 
cient; and it is certainly worthy the magnificence of the 
most powerful kings of Egypt. This well has, as it were, 
two stories, cut out of the rock to a prodigious depth. 
One descends to the reservoir of water, between the two 
wells, by a stair-case seven or eight feet broad, consist- 
ing of 220 steps, and so contrived that the oxen employed 
to throw up the water go down with all imaginable ease, 
the descent being scarce perceptible. The well is sup- 
plied from a spring, which is almost the only one in the 
whole country. — [Rollin.] 

NoMEs was the city of Sais, the residence of the cele- 
brated King Amasis. This city was ornamented with 
magnificent buildings, temples and monuments, by order 
of Amasis; but this sovereign was ambitious of erecting 
a monument of an unique character, far surpassing in 
grandeur of conception and execution anything which 
had yet been done. He therefore caused a Monolith of 
colossal size, a Temple carved out of a single block of 
stone, to be constructed and placed in the city. This 
Monolith was wrought at Sienna, at the celebrated quar- 
ries where the beautiful and compact Sienite granite was 
found, at the distance of several hundred miles above 
Canopus. This temple, formed from the solid rock, was 
21 cubits in length, 14 in breadth, and 8 in height — and 
the Egyptian cubit was supposed to be about four Eng- 
lish feet. This enormous mass of stone\:was -conveyed 
to the capital of Amasis by the waters of the Nile, and 
employed 2000 men for three years. Mr. Buckingham 
supposed that by mechanical powers it was first con- 
veyed to the edge of the river, and then placed on an 
enormous raft, and when the inundation, or annual tide 
of the Nile took place, it was floated a certain distance, 
until the river subsided, when the raft grounded, and re- 
mained immovable till the next inundation. Three years 
thus passed away before this wonderful Monolith was 
conveyed to the city of Sais. This was one of the most 
extraordinary among the antiquities of Egypt — and it 
must be evident that the Egyptians were possessed of 



54 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

great mechanical power, to be able to place such huge 
masses of stone in their proper positions, and to erect 
obelisks of stupendous size. It was related by Herodo- 
tus that one of the kings of Egypt, when his workmen 
were about erecting a huge obelisk, caused his son to 
be lashed to the top of it, and when the machinery was 
set in motion, he bade them at their peril be particular- 
ly careful that the monument was not injured, as the life 
of his son would in that case be endangered. Sais, like 
Canopus, is now in ruins; and the remarkable Monolith 
had been buried in the soil for ages, until it was disin- 
terred by some Europeans, and found to be perfect. 

The city of On, (Gen. xli. 45,) or Aven, (Ezek. xxx. 
17,) is the same with Bethshemesh, or house of the sun, 
(Jer. xliii. 13,) and was called by the Greeks, Heliopolis, 
or city of the sun. These names are given to the place, 
because it was the principal seat of the Egyptian worship 
of the sun. It was one of the oldest cities in the world, 
and was situated in the land of Goshen, on the east of 
the Nile, about five miles above modern Cairo. Eighteen 
centuries ago, this city was in ruins, when visited by 
Strabo. Herodotus says the inhabitants were "the 
wisest of the Egyptians." The father-in-law of Joseph 
was high priest of On. This was the city of Moses, ac- 
cording to Berosus, and accounts for his being "learned 
in all the wisdom of the Egyptians," (Acts vii. 22.) 
Heliopolis was the Greek translation of Bethshemesh, 
"the house or city of the sun," and is called (Jer. xliii. 
13,) "Bethshemesh in the land of Egypt," to distinguish 
it from a place of the same name in Canaan. — (Josh. 
xix. 38.) 

According to Josephus, this city was given to the fam- 
ily of Jacob, when they first came to sojourn in Egypt; 
and we know that it was a daughter of the priest of the 
temple situated here who was given in marriage to Jo- 
seph. Here also, in the time of Ptolemy Philadelphus, 
Onias, a Jew, obtained leave to erect a temple similar 
to the one at Jerusalem, which was for a long time fre- 
quented by the Hellenist Jews. There is an apparent 
reference to it by several of the prophets. [See pas- 
.sages above cited.] 

The ruins of this ancient city lie near the modern vil- 



ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. 55 

lage Materia, about six miles from Cairo, towards the 
north-east. Nothing now remains but immense dikes 
and mounds, full of pieces of marble, granite and pottery; 
some remnants of a sphynx, and an obelisk, still erect, 
of a single block of granite, 58 feet above ground, and 
covered with hieroglyphics. 

Pathros, a city or canton of Egypt. It is probably 
the Phaturis of Pliny. It had its name from Pathrusim, 
the fifth son of Mizraim, who built or peopled it. — (Gen. 
X. 14; Isa. xi. 11. Comp. Jer. xliv. 1, 15, and Ezek. 
xxix. 14, xxx, 14.) This is theThebais of the Greeks, 
and Said of the Arabs, the same with Upper or Southern 
Egypt. Some of the Jews, had withdrawn to this region, 
and there given themselves up to idolatry ; but Jeremiah 
forewarns them of the tremendous judgments which 
awaited them. 

PiTHOM and Rameses were the two cities for the build- 
ing of which the Hebrews made brick. — (Ex. i. 11.) 
The situation of them is now unknown. Herodotus men- 
tions a city called Pathumos, situated on the canal made 
to join the Red Sea and the river Nile. Pithom, (Ex. i. 
11,) was one of Pharaoh's treasure cities, public gran- 
aries, or places for the storage of grain. It is supposed, 
from its relative situation, to be the Patoumos of the 
Greeks; inasmuch as the facilities of access to it and 
transportation from it would lead to its selection for this 
purpose. Raamses or Rameses, (Gen. xlyii. 1 1 ; Ex. xii. 
37; Num. xxxiii. 3,) was also one ol^Pharaoh's treasure 
cities or public granaries, probably fortified for the se- 
curity of the stores. 

Rosetta was located on the west bank of one of the 
branches of the Nile, near the Mediterranean, and was 
the city of Haroun el Raschid, a name celebrated in the 
Arabian Nights. Rosetta was a truly oriental city, the 
buildings being nearly all of Saracenic architecture, 
which differs from the light Gothic only in substituting 
minarets for towers, and in surrounding them with ma- 
jestic domes. It contained about 12,000 inhabitants, 
principally Mahometans; and was picturesquely situated 
among groves of palm trees; and in approaching it, the 
minarets and towers presented a beautiful appearance, 
peering above the trees. 



56 ' LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

Syene, (Ezek. xxix. 10,) was a very ancient city, on 
the southern frontier of Egypt, near the ruins of which 
is the modern city of Assooar or Aswan. The site of 
Syene shows some granite columns, and a confused mix- 
ture of monuments. "Here," says a celebrated mod- 
ern geographer, "the Pharaohs and the Ptolemies raised 
the temples and the palaces which are found half buried 
under the drifting sand. Here are the quarries from 
which the obelisks and colossal statues of the Egyptian 
temples were dug. And on the polished surface of some 
of the native rocks are found hieroglyphic sculptured rep- 
resentations of Egyptian deities." 

Tahapanes, the same as Tehaphenes, was a large city 
in the north of Egypt, called by Herodotus the Pelusiac 
Daphne. — (Jer. ii. 16; Exek. xxx. 18.) Hither many 
Jews emigrated after the ruin of their country, and took 
Jeremiah with them. — (Jer. xliii. 7-9.) 

The city of the Crocodiles is much dilapidated — many 
of the stones and building materials having been taken 
away, to assist in constructing other cities. 

Canopus was situated on the western bank of the 
western branch of the seven-fold Nile. It extended 
along the bank for five or six miles, and was about the 
same extent in width, being of a semi-circular form. 
One of its greatest peculiarities was the magnificence of 
all its buildings, showing that, like Palmyra, it was in- 
habited only by persons of great wealth. This city de- 
rived its importance, not from trade, like Alexandria, 
but owed its prosperity to another and more potent cause 
— a cause which, if existing in this country at the pres- 
ent time, would raise up a magnificent city with even 
greater rapidity than was ever the case in former times. 
This charm, which attracted crowds of people from the 
east and from the west, the north and the south, consist- 
ed in its fountains , which possessed, or had the reputation 
of possessing, the remarkable property of restoring to 
elderly ladies all the health and beauty with which they 
had been blessed in the morning of life. They bathed 
themselves in the waters of the fountains, and the pleas- 
ing transformation was supposed to take place. These 
wonderful baths drew vast numbers to the city of Cano- 
pus, and these being almost entirely persons of opulence. 



ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. 51 

would account for the absence of humbler dwellings, and 
for the gorgeous architecture, the beautiful sculpture, 
and the splendid palaces with which Canopus abounded. 
But when the delusion vanished, and the people no long- 
er believed in the virtues of the fountains, it is probable 
the desertion of the city was as sudden as its rise and 
prosperity had been rapid. This delusion, it has been 
humorously said by a distinguished traveller, was no 
greater than actually exists in the 19th century, in Eng- 
land and America. It is true, people do not believe in 
fountains of youth ; but they believe that j9^//s and lotions 
will produce an effect as marvellous as that ascribed to 
the baths of Canopus. Any one may be convinced of this 
fact by reading the newspaper advertisements ofthe day, 
from which it will appear that if people become sick it is 
their own fault; and if they die they have no one but 
themselves to blame. 

Damietta is situated on the eastern bank of a differ- 
. ent branch ofthe Nile, and is remarkable for having been 
the city which was the residence ofthe Crusaders. The 
architecture ofthe buildings and the appearance and cus- 
toms ofthe inhabitants, approach nearer to those ofthe 
cities of Europe than any other eastern city. The in- 
habitants are cheerful, and possess a spark of vivacity 
uncommon with the Turks, and such as is seldom met 
with in other cities ofthe East. Its population is about 
20,000. 

Goshen. I. (Gen. xlv. 10.) A fertile section of pas- 
ture land in the north-eastern division of Egypt, between 
the Red Sea and the River Nile, upon the southern bor- 
der of Canaan, allotted by Joseph to his father and his 
brethren, where they dwelt for upwards of two hundred 
years. It was, for grazing purposes, the best of the 
land. — (Gen. xlvii. 6, 11.) Mr. Smith, an American 
missionary, passed, with a caravan, through the northern 
district of ancient Goshen, in 1827; and he describes it 
as an immense sandy desert, drifted with sand banks; 
and presenting here and there, in small patches, a few 
shrubs of evergreen, like our whortleberry bushes, on 
which the Bedouins pasture their flocks. Rameses and 
Pithon are mentioned as cities of Goshen, and the sup- 
posed ruins of them are described by modern travellers. 
5 



58 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

The Pacha of Egypt has lately established a colony of 
500 Syrians in the ancient land of Goshen, for the pur- 
pose of cultivating the mulberry and rearing silk-worms. 

2. (Josh. XV. 51.) A city in the territory of Judah, 
which gave the name of the land of Goshen to the coun- 
try around it. 

Heptanomis was so called from the seven Nomi or 
districts it contained — ^Lower Egypt, which included what 
the Greeks call Delta, and all the country as far as the 
Red Sea, and along the Mediterranean to Rhinocolura, 
or Mt. Casius. 

Hermopolis is in ruins, but its streets, squares, pal- 
aces, and soihe of its private dwellings remain; and while 
walking through its desolate streets, and standing be- 
neath the gorgeous temples, the traveller cannot but feel 
lost in admiration at their beauty and splendor. 

Heliopolis. At this city, in its palmy days, was a col- 
lege of great celebrity, where Greeks and Romans, and 
citizens of other places in Europe, used to resort to ac- 
quire knowledge. It was there that the doctrine of the 
metempsychosis, or transmigration of souls, was taught, 
and which, by Pythagoras the Samian and other philos- 
ophers, was carried over into other countries. Those 
who entertained a belief in this doctrine supposed that 
there was a time when every soul was independent of a 
body; that wheii a body was afterwards created, a soul 
entered into it, and there continued till the natural term 
of its existence had expired; and if, during this state of 
probation, it conducted with rectitude and propriety, ful- 
filling all the duties prescribed by the moral law, the 
soul would afterwards pass into the body of a being of a 
higher grade than the one it had left, and at the close of 
every term of its existence, it would go on improving, if 
it continued to conduct in a blameless manner — at length 
getting advanced in the scale of improvement beyond hu- 
man perfection, it would constitute the essence of an an- 
gel, or some superior being, and still improving, would 
finally become incorporated with Deity itself This 
was the system of rewards. The system of punishment 
was of a corresponding nature. If a person conducted 
ill, the soul, at his death, would enter into the body of 
an inferior human being, or perhaps an animal — and if 



ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. 59 

• 

his conduct had been exceedingly vicious and depraved, 
it would enter into the body of an animal of the most de- 
graded and detested class. 

Memphis. This city was built by TJchoreuSj king of 
Egypt, on the west side of the Nile, and was the capital 
of Middle Egypt, or Heptanomis. It was 150 furlongs, 
or more than 7 leagues, in circumference, and stood at 
the point of the Delta, in that part where the Nile divides 
itself into several branches or streams. Southward from 
the city, the king raised a vast and high mole; on the 
right and left, he dug deep moats to receive the river. 
These were faced with stone, and raised, near the city, 
by a strong causeway — the whole designed to secure the 
city from the inundations of the Nile and the incursions 
of enemies. A city so advantageously situated, and so 
strongly fortified that it was almost the key of the Nile, 
and by this means commanded the whole country, soon 
became the usual residence of the Egyptian kings. Here 
were many stately temples, the god Apis, pyramids, &c. 
— (Rollin.) 

NopH, (Isa. xix. 13; Jer. ii. 16; Ezek. xxx. 13, 16,) 
was probably the ancient Memphis, in Middle Egypt, on 
the Nile, 15 miles south of old Cairo. It was the resi- 
dence of the earlier kings of Egypt, and is said to have 
been about 20 miles in circumference. In the seventh 
century it fell into the hands of the Saracens; and the 
predicted judgments of God, on account of its idolatry 
and general corruption, gradually effaced every trace of 
its ancient magnificence. In the time of Strabo, there 
were many splendid remains, among which he describes 
a temple of Vulcan, of great magnificence; another of 
Venus; and a third of Osiris, where the Apis or sacred 
ox was worshipped. He also mentions a large circus; 
but he remarks, that many of the palaces were in ruins, 
and describes an immense colossus which lay prostrate 
in front of the city; and among a number of sphinxes, 
some were buried in sand up to the middle of the body, 
while of others only the heads were visible above the 
sand. Some monuments were to be seen 600 years after 
the time of Strabo's visit, when the Saracens had posses- 
sion of the country; but at present there is scarcely a 
vestige of its former grandeur to be found. This has led 



60 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

some to conjecture that its site was overflowed by the 
Nile; but it is much more probable that it has been cov- 
ered by the continual encroachment of the sands, which, 
we see, were advancing in the time of Strabo. And it 
cannot be doubted but that a large part of ancient Egypt 
has already been completely buried by the sands from the 
wilderness. 

No, (Jer. xlvi. 25; Ezek. xxx. 14,) is generally sup- 
posed to be the famous city of Thebes, in Upper Egypt, 
extending itself on both sides of the Nile. — (Nah. iii. 8.) 
The fact is so uncertain, however, that we should not 
feel justified in introducing an article upon Thebes. In- 
stead of No, in Jer. xlvi. 25, it should be rendered .^m- 
mon of JYo, or the seat or dwelling of the god Amnion. 
It was probably applied to two or three places. A dis- 
tinction was sometimes made between the No spoken of 
in Nahum iii. 8 — 10, and the No mentioned by Jeremi- 
ah and Ezekiel. The destruction of the former [sup- 
posed to be Thebes,] is described in detail, as already 
past, while the doom of the other [which is supposed to 
have been in Lower Egypt,] is predicted by Jeremiah 
and Ezekiel as a future event. No, was the chief seat of 
the worship of Jupiter Ammon. Its ruins are the won- 
der and delight of all travellers. — (Jer. xlvi. 25.) 

The city of Thebes. The foundation of the kingdom 
of Thebes was laid by the celebrated Cadmus, a Phoe- 
nician or Ethiopian. The city of Thebes, in Upper 
Egypt, was one of the most splendid cities in the world, 
and was built by Busiris, king of Egypt, now called Said. 
Temples and palaces have been discovered, which are 
still almost entire, adorned with innumerable columns 
and statues. Travellers give us accounts of one palace 
in particular, whose remains seem to haVe existed sole- 
ly to eclipse the glory of the most magnificent edifices 
of ancient or modern times. Four walks, extending far- 
ther than the eye can see, and bounded on each side with 
sphinxes composed of materials as rare and extraordi- 
nary as their size is remarkable, serve for avenues to 
four porticoes, whose height is amazing to behold. Be- 
sides, those who describe this wonderful edifice had not 
time to explore it thoroughly, and suppose they saw no 
more than half its extent. A hill, which in appearance 



ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. 61 

stood in the middle of this stately palace, was supported 
by 120 pillars, each of which was six fathoms in circum- 
ference, and of proportionable height, intermixed with 
obelisks which so many ages have not been able to de- 
molish. Painting had displayed all her art and magnifi- 
cence in this edifice. The colors themselves, which 
soonest feel the injury of time, still remain amidst the ru- 
ins of this wonderful structure, and preserve their beauty 
and lustre. So happily could the Egyptians imprint a 
character of immortality on all their works. — [Lib. 17, 
p. 805.] Strabo, who was on the spot, describes a tem- 
ple he saw in Egypt very much resembling that of which 
we have been speaking. 

The ruins of Thebes, lie on both sides the Nile, for a 
space of nearly nine miles along the river, and reaching 
far inland. The modern names of Luxor, Carnac and 
Kourna are given only to parts of the same city, whose 
ancient circuit was 27 miles, the whole of which space is 
now full of fallen columns, colossal statues and obelisks. 
It is reported to have had an hundred gates, out of each 
of which it could send 20,000 soldiers and 200 chariots. 
The palace of Memnon, with its vast porticoes, colossal 
statues, and almost endless rows of columns, shows that 
the kings who once reigned here were very rich, and 
that the artists by whom the edifices were erected 
were able and intelligent men, although they were built 
so long ago that history can tell us very little about 
them. 

Thebais, derives its name from Thebes, which with its 
hundred palaces and hundred gates, might vie with the 
noblest cities of the world. It was celebrated by Homer, 
an Ethiopian, whose description is generally familiar. It 
acquired the surname of Hecatompylos, to distinguish it 
from the other Thebes, in Boeotia. It was equally large 
and populous, and according to history it could send out 
at once 200 chariots and 10,000 fighting men at each of 
its gates. The Greeks and Romans have celebrated its 
magnificence and grandeur, though they saw only its ru- 
ins, so august were its remains. — [Strabo and Rollin.] 

The Thebans, says Diodorus, considered themselves 
as the most ancient people of the East, and asserted that 
philosophy and astronomy originated with them. 



62, LIGHT AND TRUTH, 

Thebes, what a glory on thy temples sate, 

When monarchs hardly less than gods were thine. 

Though mystery and darkness shroud thy fate^ 
The glimpse imagination gives us is divine. 

Through the long vista, as we gaze, half hid, 

Distinct though distant, graceful, though austere, 

Palace and pillar, fane and pyramid. 
In awful grandeur and repose appear. 

Nations, since born, have wept o'er thy decay; 

Science and Art have flourish'd and have died; 
And glory, like a dream, has pass'd away — 

Yet thine imperishable fame shall aye abide. 

The native spirit yet may wake and live, 

(Freedom and Culture, what hast thou not done,) 

And Ethiopia kindle and revive, 

Like her own table when it felt the sun. 

The city of Sin, ) Ezek. xxx. 15, 16,) is the Pelusium 
of the Greeks, and is called the strength of Egypt, be- 
cause of its position as a bulwark. The ruins of it are 
supposed to have been discovered by the French army 
in the invasion of Egypt under Bonaparte. 

ZoAN, (Num. xiii. 22,) by the Greeks called Tanis, 
and by the Arabs, San, was one of the oldest cities of the 
world, founded only seven years later than Hebron, and 
situated on the Tanitic arm of the Nile. It was evi- 
dently the residence of a line of princes, (Isa. xix. 11 — 
13; xxx. 4,) and probably the place where Moses 
wrought the Egyptian miracles. — (Ps. Ixxviii. 12, 43.) 
Ezekiel prophesied against it, (Ezek, xxx. 14,) and its 
ruins are yet visible, and present numerous pillars and 
obelisks, as evidence of its former magnificence. 

The city of Zoar. Delta was the city of Tanis, the 
Zoar of the scriptures, alluded to by the Psalmist, situ- 
ated in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites were 
held in bondage. The antiquities of this part of Egypt 
throw much light on scripture history. The labors of 
the Israelites, it is thought, were confined to the land of 
Goshen, and it is not probable they were employed in 
the construction of the pyramids, as some persons have 
supposed. In Zoar, which is no longer inhabited, may 
still be seen the remains of brick work, which, we are 
taught by Holy Writ, was the employment of the Israel- 
ites. The walls of this city were of immense size, being 



ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. 63 

80 feet in thickness at the base, perpendicular at the 
outside, but sloping internally, the top being 30 feet thick, 
and sufficiently extensive for three chariots to ride 
abreast. The interior portion of the walls was made of 
bricks without straw. Zoar is now desolate — and the 
waters of the Nile flow over a portion of this once popu- 
lous and renowned city. 

The River of Egypt, (Josh. xv. 47,) does not mean 
the Nile, but the Sihor, or the brook Bezor, which runs 
into the Mediterranean. That which is called, (Gen. xv. 
18,) by way of pre-eminence, the River, (Gen. xli. 1; 
Ex. vii. 17,) and sometimes Sihor, (Isa. xxiii. 3,) or Shi- 
hor, (1 Chron. xiii. 5,) is the Nile, a remarkable river, 
which flows 1200 miles without meeting a tributary 
stream. Its overflowings inundate the adjoining country, 
(Amos viii. 8; ix, 5,) and give it its extraordinary fer- 
tility. Hence a failure of this periodical overflowing 
must occasion the utmost distress. — (Isa. xix. 5, 6.) 

The Egyptians were celebrated legislators and able 
politicians, magistrates born for government, men that 
have excelled in all arts and sciences, philosophers who 
carried their inquiries as far as was possible in those 
early ages, and who have left us such maxims of morali- 
ty as many Christians ought to blush at. 

From the history of Herodotus we learn that the an- 
cient Egyptians were black, and that their hair was friz- 
zly or curly. 

The inhabitants of ancient Colchis, since called Min- 
grelia, were originally Egyptians, and colonized that 
country when Sesostris, king of Egypt, extended his 
conquests in the north. They had, like the Egyptians^ 
black skins and frizzly hair, and were the ancestors of 
the warlike Philistines. Samson's wife was the daughter 
of a Philistine. — (Judges xxiv. ; Herodotus.) 



THE LAND OF CANAAN. 

Canaan was the Scripture name of what was called 
Palestine, or the Holy Land. This name was derived 
from Canaan, the fourth son of Ham, [literally black,'] 
whose posterity settled there, and remained for about 



64 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

700 years. It is now called Judea, and its divisions, at 
different times, have been as follows: 

Ancient Canaanitish Division. Israelitish Div. Roman Div. 

Sidonians, Tribe of Asher, (in Lebanon,) ^ 

TT 1 ( Napthali. (Northwest of the lake > Upper Galilee. 

Unknown, ^ of Geneskret.) S 

Perizzites, Zebulon. (West of Genesaret.) S 

„ ( Issachar. (ValleyofEsdraelon, and > Lower Galilee. 

5>anie, - < jyn^-pabor.) ) 

„. .. S Half tribe of Manasseh. (Dor and^ 

Hivites, ^ Cesarea.) < Samaria. 

Same, Ephraim. (Shechem tfe Samaria.) 3 

Jebusites, Benjamin. (Jericho & Jerusalem.) ^ 

Amorites, Hittites, Judah. (Hebron & Judea proper.) f Jndea 

Tj, -,. ,. 5 Simeon, (Southwest of Judah, Dan, (" 

fliilistmes, ^ andJoppa.) 3 

Moabites, Reuben. (Gilead and Heshbon.) ^ 

Ammonites, Gilead, Ammonites. (Gilead.) v Gilead 

17- J c -Dr. u„« ^ Half tribe of Manasseh. (Golan t 

Kmgdom of Bashan, J Bashan.)* 7 

The boundaries of Canaan, as generally laid down, 
are Lebanon on the north, Arabia on the east, Idumea 
on the south, and the sea on the west. 

At the time when Abraham eame into the land of Ca- 
naan, there were already in existence numerous towns, 
which are mentioned in the book of Genesis; Sodom and 
Gomorrah, Zeboim, Admah, Bela, Hebron and Damas- 
cus. This last is truly venerable, as it is beyond doubt 
the oldest city in the world. The spies who were sent 
over Jordan brought back an account of well fortified 
cities. In the book of Joshua, we read of no less than 
600 towns, of which the Israelites took possession. When 
the city of Ai was taken, its inhabitants, who were put 
to the sword, amounted to 12,000, (Josh. viii. 16, 25,) 
and we are told that Gibeon was a still greater city. — 
(Josh. X. 2.) 

AsHTAROTH, (Josh. ix, 10,) Called Astaroth, (Deut. i. 
4,) and Ashteroth Karnaim, (Gen. xiv, 5,) was one of the 
chief cities of Bashan, and is supposed to be the same 
with the modern Mezaraib, on the route of the pilgrims 
from Damascus to Mecca. 



* A section of Canaan, extending across from the Jordan to the Medi- 
terranean Sea, and northwardly to the territory of Beiyamin and Dan. — 
(Josh. XV. 1—63.) 



ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. 65 

Adad-rimmon, a city in the valley of Jezreel, famous 
for a dreadful battle. — (2 Kings xxiii. 29; Zech. xii. 11.) 
It was afterward called Maximianopolis, in honor of the 
emperor Maximian. 

Antipatris, a city of Canaan, situated in a pleasant 
valley, near the mountains, in the way from Jerusalem 
to Csesarea, about 17 miles distant from Joppa, and 42 
from Jerusalem. — (Acts xxiii. 31.) It was formerly call- 
ed Capharsalama, (1 Mace. vii. 31,) but was of little 
note till enlarged and adorned by Herod, who named it 
after his father, Antipater. 

Admah. (Deut. xxix. 23.) The most easterly of the 
five cities of the plain or vale of Siddim, which were 
miraculously destroyed by fire, because of their great 
wickedness. Some infer from Isa. xv. 9, the last clause 
of which is translated by the Septuagint, ''and upon the 
remnant of Admah," that Admah was not entirely destroy- 
ed; but the more probable supposition is, that another 
city of the same name was afterwards built, near the 
site of the former. 

Arad. (Judg. i. 16.) A city in the southern border 
of Judea, whose ;king opposed the passage of the chil- 
dren of Israel, and even took some of them prisoners, 
for which they were accursed, and their city destroyed. 

AccHO, a seaport of Canaan, belonging to the tribe of 
Asher, but not conquered by them. — (Judg. i. 31.) It 
first became an important city in the reign of Ptolemy 
Philadelphus, who greatly enlarged and beautified the 
place, and from whom it was long called Ptolemais. It 
became famous during the crusades, and was then called 
St. Jean d'Acre. 

Ajalon. 1. (Josh. X. 12.) A village of Canaan, sit- 
uated in the tribe of Dan, between Jerusalem and Ekron. 
In the vicinity of Ajalon is the valley of the same name, 
memorable for the miracle of Joshua. 

2. A city in the tribe of Asher, also called Aphik, 
(Judg. i. 31) situated in Lebanon, on the northern 
border of Canaan, where there is now a village called 
Aphka. It was here that Benhadad assembled the Syr- 
ians, (Josh. xii. 18; xiii. 4; xix. 30; 1 Kings xx. 26,) 
37,000 of whom were destroyed by the falling of a wall, 

Beer-lahai-roi. (Gen. xvi. 14.) A place in the 



<S6 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

southern border of Canaan, near the desert of Shur, 
which received its name in consequence of the appear- 
ance of an angel to Hagar, when she was in exile. The 
name of the place signifies "the well of him that liveth 
and seeth me." 

Beer-sheba. (Gen, xxi. 31.) This was at first the 
name of a well, near which Abraham long resided, (Gen. 
xxi. 33,) and Isaac after him, (Gen. xxvi. 32, 33.) It 
afterwards became a town of considerable note. It 
was situated about 20 miles south of Hebron, at the 
southern extremity of the land of Canaan, as Dan was 
at the northern extremity. Hence the expression, 
(Judg. XX. 1,) " from Dan to Beer-sheba," denoted the 
whole length of the land, as also did the expression, "from 
Beer-sheba to Mt. Ephraim," (2 Chron. xix. 4,) repre- 
sent the whole length of the kingdom of Judah. The 
town was within the territory of Judah, and fell finally 
into Simeon's hands. — (Josh. xv. 28; xix. 2.) At Beer- 
sheba resided the sons of Samuel, (1 Sam. viii. 2,) and in 
later times the place was given to idolatry — (Amos v. 
5; viii. 14.) 

Bethel, (Gen. xxviii. 19,) was the residence of one of 
the Canaanite kings; and the Ephraimites, to whom it 
was assigned in the division of the land, were unable to 
gain possession of it until they were aided by the treach- 
ery of one of the inhabitants. — Judg. i. 22 — 26.) The 
tabernacle was stationed a long time in this place. This 
city was situated east of a line running from Shechem to 
Jerusalem, and at about an equal distance from each. 
When Jacob was journeying towards Mesopotamia to 
avoid the fury of his brother Esau, he lodged at a place 
near the city ofLuz, and was favored with a remarkable 
vision of the Almighty. For this cause, he named the 
place, and the adjoining city. Bethel, [house of God.] 

Bethshean, a city west of the Jordan, known in an- 
cient geography as Scythopolis, but now called Bysan, 
and containing only 70 or 80 houses. 

Bozrah was a city situated to the eastward ofBashan. 

Cana, of Galilee. (John ii. 1.) Asmall village about 
15 miles north-west of Tiberias, and 6 miles north-east 
of Nazareth. 

Chorasin. (Matt. xi. 21.) A town on the shore of 



ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. 67 

the Sea of Tiberias, where Christ wrought miracles; but 
its precise location is not known. 

Damascus, once a most noble city, and one of the 
most ancient on the earth, — (Gen. xiv. 15.) It was 
about 50 miles in circumference, situated in a large 
plain, and is surrounded by several considerable villages. 
The plain is covered with gardens of chestnut, olive, and 
fig trees, apricots and vines. According to the best in- 
formation, Damascus contains about 150,000 souls, about 
10,000 of whom are Christians. It is computed that 50,- 
000 Mahometan pilgrims annually pass through this city, 
from the north, on their way to Mecca. 

Dor. (Judg. i. 27.) This is now a small town on the 
Mediterranean coast, about nine miles north of Cees area. 
Its present name is Tortura. It is close upon the beach, 
and contains about 500 inhabitants. It was formerly a 
royal city, or capital of a district of Canaan, (Josh. xii. 
23,) and was assigned to the half tribe of Manasseh. 

Debir, or Kirjath-Sepher, (Judg. i. 11,) or Kirjath- 
Sannah, (Josh. xv. 49.) A stronghold of the sons of 
Anak, which was conquered by Joshua, (Josh. x. 38, 
39,) and assigned to the tribe of Judah. It was after- 
wards recaptured by the Canaanites, and again subdued 
by the Israelites under Othniel. — (Josh. xv. 15 — 17.) 
It afterwards became a city of the Levites. — (Josh. xxi. 
15.) There was another town of this name among the 
possessions of Gad, east of the Jordan, (Josh. xiii. 26,) 
and a third on the border of Judah and Benjamin. — 
(Comp. Josh. viii. 26, and xv. 7.) 

Emims. (Deut. ii. 10.) A numerous and warlike peo- 
ple of gigantic size, who dwelt on the eastern borders of 
Canaan, and who were supplanted by the Moabites. 

Gezer. (Josh. xvi. 3.) A town of Ephraim on the 
border of Benjamin, north-west of Jerusalem. It re- 
mained in the possession of the'Canaanites, (Josh. x. 33; 
xvi. 10; Judg. i. 29,) till the king of Egypt subdued it, 
and gave it to his daughter, the wife of Solomon. 

GiRGAsiTE, (Gen. x. 16,) or Girgashites, (Gen. xv. 
21.) A. tribe of the Canaanites, who are supposed to 
have inhabited a section of the country east of the Sea of 
Galilee, from whom the name of the city of Gergesa was 
derived. 



68 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

The city of Gilead was situated on the river Jabok, 
in Canaan. — (Josh. xii. 2.) 

Hazor. (Josh. xi. 10.) A capital city of the Canaan- 
ites, where Jabin dwelt, and which was subdued and 
burnt by Joshua. — (Josh. xi. 1 — 13.) It was, how- 
ever, rebuilt and governed by a king of the same name, 
whose army was roufed by Barak. — (Judg. iv. 2 — 16.) 
It was fortified by Solomon, (1 Kings ix. 15,) and in the 
general invasion of the country by Tiglath-Pileser, fell 
into his hands, (2 Kings xv. 29,) and its inhabitants were 
carried into Assyria. 

The land of Havilah, (Gen. ii. 11,) where the sacred 
historian uses the name which afterwards applied to this 
Jand, and which was probably derived from Havilah, the 
son of Cush, (Gen. x. 7,) whose descendants peopled it. 
It is supposed to be the same with Colchis, between the 
Black Sea and the Caspian. Another country of this 
name lay between the Euphrates and Tigris, towards the 
Persian Gulf, where Chavelgei [or Chavilah,] of later 
times is found. One of these provinces may have been 
settled by Havilah, the descendant of Joktan. — (Gen. x. 
29.) A third Havilah is supposed to be intended in Gen. 
XXV. 18, though that passage may also describe the vast 
region last mentioned, between the Persian Gulf on the 
east, and Shur by tlie Red Sea on the west. The phrase 
"from Havilah unto Shur," in Gen. xxv. 18, and 1 Sam. 
XV. 7, and many other passages seems to be used to des- 
ignate the opposite extremes of Arabia; in which sense 
Havilah may be regarded as the eastern border of the 
country inhabited by the Ishmaelites and Amalekites. 

HiviTEs. (Gen. x. 17.) A horde of the Canaanites 
elsewhere called Avims. — (Deut. ii. 23.) They seem to 
have been settled in various parts of the land. — (Gen. 
xxxiv. 2; Josh. xi. 3, 19.) 

HoRiMs. (Deut. ii. 1,22.) A general name for dwell- 
ers in caves; and perhaps the same with the Horites. 

HoRiTES. (Gen. xiv. 6.) An ancient and powerful 
people, who dwelt in Mt. Seir. — (Gen. xxxvi. 20 — 30.) 

Hadad-rimmon. (Zech. xii. 11.) From comparing 
this passage with 2 Chron. xxxv. 22 — 25, we infer that 
Hadadrimmon was a city or village in the valley of Me- 
giddo. 



ANCIENl^ CITIES AND KINGDOMS. iS9 

KisHON. An ancient river, rising at the foot of Mt. 
Tabor. It is called "the waters of Megiddo," because 
Megiddo was built upon its margin. It is famous for the 
battle between Barak and Sisera, and for the destruction 
of Baal's prophets. — (1 Kings xviii. 40.) It is called 
"the river before Jokneam." — (Josh. xix. 11.) 

Jebus. (Judg. xix. 10.) The Jebusite is mentioned 
among the descendants of Canaan the son of Ham, 
(Gen. X. 16,) and there was a warlike race called Jebu- 
sites, inhabiting the mountainous country around Jeru- 
salem, and keeping possession of it, (Josh. xv. 63,) until 
it was wrested from them by David, and made the capi- 
tal of Judea. (1 Chron. xi. 4 — 8.) The Jebusites were 
probably permitted to remain on the ground after their 
conquest. (2 Sam. xxiv. 16, 24.) It is supposed they 
were dispossessed for a season by Joshua, (Josh. x. 23, 
40; xii. 10,) and afterwards regained some districts, 
while the Israelites possessed others. — (Comp. Josh. xv. 
63; 1 Sam. xvii. 54; 2 Sam. v. 6.) 

Kenites. (Gen. XV. 19.) One of the tribes or nations 
who had possession of Canaan in the time of Abraham. 
It appears that they were driven from Canaan; and are 
afterwards spoken of as dwelling in the highlands near 
the Ammonites and Moabites. — (Num. xxiv. 21, 22.) 
In the time of Saul, they were found dwelling among or 
near the Amalekites. Jethro, the father-in-law of Mo- 
ses, was of this nation. 

Kadmonites, a tribe of Canaanites east of Jordan, 
near Mt. Hermon. — (Gen. xv. 19.) Cadmus, the fa- 
mous inventor of the Greek Alphabet, is thought to have 
emigrated from this country. 

Lebanon, a famous range of mountains in the north of 
Canaan. At the top grew cedars, and at the base ex- 
cellent vines. There are two ridges; the eastern, call- 
ed by the Greeks, Anti-Libanus; and the western, or 
Proper Libanus, which runs nearly parallel to the coast 
of the Great Sea. From hence, Solomon's workmen 
"brought great stones, costly stones, and hewed stones, 
to lay the foundation of the house." — (1 Kings v. 14 — 
18.) Mines of iron and copper were worked here. — 
(Deut. viii. 9.) The highest summits, which are proba- 
bly about 12,000 feet above the level of the ocean, are 



1;Q LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

always covered with snow, from which descend in sum- 
mer, sweet and refreshing rivulets on every side. The 
principal range extends, somewhat in the form of a cres- 
cent, from Cilicia to Esdraelon, a distance of 50 leagues. 
A spur of this mountain next the Holy Land is called 
Hermon. Another spur to the eastward is Mt. Gilead, 
where Laban overtook Jacob. — (Gen. xxxi. 25.) 

MiNNi. (Jer. li. 27.) A province of Armenia, or, 
more probably, one of the several clans or tribes who 
were settled on Mt. Taurus, east and south of the Black 
Sea. The Ashkenites were another of these tribes. 

Makkedah. (Josh. X. 10.) One of the principal cit- 
ies of the Canaanites, which was allotted to Judah, and 
lay south-west of Jerusalem. There was a remarkable 
cave here, in which five petty kings concealed them- 
selves, but were discovered by Joshua, and put to an ig- 
nominious death. 

MizREPHOTH-MAiM. (Josh. xi. 8.) A place near Si- 
don, and supposed to be the same with Sarepta. 

Perizzites, one of the devoted nations of Canaan. 
They were never fully extirpated. Solomon exacted trib- 
ute of them. — (2 Chron. viii. 7.) So late as the days 
of Ezra we find them intermarried with the Jews. — (Ez. 
ix. 1.) 

Samaria. 1. (1 Kings xiii. 32.) The central prov- 
ince or section of the land of Canaan, having Galilee on 
the north and Judea on the south was called, in the 
time of Christ, Samaria. It included the possessions of 
Ephraim and Manasseh, and comprehends the modern 
districts of Areta and Nablouse; in the former of which 
are the sites of Csesarea and Carmel, and in the latter 
Shechem and the city of Samaria. 

2. The city of Samaria, (1 Kings xvi. 24,) from which 
the above province had its name, was situated about 40 
miles north of Jerusalem, and a short distance north-west 
of Nablouse, [Shechem.] It was founded by Omri, king 
of Israel, as the capital of Israel, or the ten tribes. — (1 
Kings xvi. 29; 2 Kings iii. 1.) The territory was pur- 
chased of Shemer, [hence Samaria,] and fortified. — (2 
Kings X. 2.) It withstood two unsuccessful sieges by 
Benhadad, king of Syria, and his powerful allies, (1 
Kings 20,) and was finally subdued by Shalmanezer, in 



ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. 71 

the reign of Hoshea, but not till after a siege of three 
years. — (2 Kings xvii. 1 — 6.) Previous to its fall, it 
was given up to every species of sensuality, oppression 
and idolatry. It recovered its prosperity, however, and 
reached the height of its glory in the time of Herod the 
Great, who enlarged and adorned it. The ruins attest 
its former magnificence, though it is now but an insig- 
nificant village. A modern traveller says, " The situa- 
tion is extremely beautiful, and strong by nature — more 
so than Jerusalem. It stands on a fine large insulated 
hill, compassed all round by a bro.ad deep valley; and 
when fortified, must have been, according to the ancient 
mode of fighting, almost impregnable." 

AsHiMA, the god of the Hamathites, who settled in Sa- 
maria. 

Shechem, (Gen. xxxiii. 18,) or Sychem, (Acts viiv 
16,) or Sychar, (John iv. 5,) was one of the most an- 
cient cities of Canaan. 

Shalem. Jacob took his women and children, and 
flocks and herds, and came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, 
which is in the land of Canaan, where he bought a par- 
cel of ground of the children of Hamor, for a hundred 
pieces of money, and erected there an altar, and called 
it El-Elohe-Israel, that is "God, the God of Israel." — • 
(Gen. xxxiii.) But although Jacob seems to have intend- 
ed this as his place of permanent residence, yet events 
occurred which rendered it expedient for him to remove 
to another part of the country. — (Gen. xxxiv.) Jacob was 
greatly grieved at the cruel and treacherous conduct of 
his sons in the affair of Dinah, and foresaw that it would 
render him and his family odious to all the people in the 
neighborhood, so as to expose him to be slain with all 
his house. 

Salem, (Gen. xv. 18,) has been generally supposed to 
be the place which was afterwards called Jerusalem. 
(Comp. Ps. Ixxvi. 2.) But some think that the place of 
which Melchizedec was king was the Shalem of Gen. 
xxxiii. 18, or the Salim of the New Testament, [see Sa- 
LiM,] and that the Salem of the Psalmist is a contraction 
of Jerusalem. 

Salim, (John iii.23,) or Shalem, (Gen. xxxiii. 18,) or 
Shalim, (1 Sam. ix. 4,) was south of Bethshean, and west 



7^ LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

of Enon. Some suppose it was the same with Sha- 
lem or Sychem, but that is not placed near Enon by any 
geographers. Probably Melchizedec was king of one of 
these places, and not of Jerusalem, as some have main- 
tained. 

Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboim and Zoar were 
five cities of the Canaanites. In the days of Abraham 
they had each a king. The Dead Sea now covers the 
site of these cities. — (Jude 7.) The Scripture account 
of the overthrow of these cities is corroborated by the ac- 
counts of Strabo, Diodorus Siculus, Tacitus, Solinus, &c. 

SiDON, a great commercial city, and the capital of the 
Phoenicians. It was built soon after the flood, by Sidon, 
the eldest son of Canaan. Tyre, 25 miles south of it, 
was built by a colony from this city. Both cities lay 
within the lot of Asher; but that tribe never expelled the 
people. Indeed, at one time the Sidonians overcame all 
Israel; and in the days of Ahaz they drove a great com- 
merce in exporting the Jews for slaves. — (Joel iii. 4.) 
The gospel was at the first proclaimed here, and flour- 
ishing churches continued for many ages. After being 
lost and won in the crusades, the Saracens finally made 
themselves masters of it, A. D. 1289. Some Christians 
are yet found here. It now contains 16,000 inhabitants, 
and is called Saide. 

Sarepta, (Luke iv. 26,) or Zarephath, (I Kings xvii. 
9.) A Gentile town, lying on the shores of the Mediter- 
ranean, between Tyre and Sidon, and belonging to the 
latter. Its modern name is Zarpha, or Zarphant. Though 
there were many widows in Israel, distressed with the 
prevailing famine, Elijah was not sent to them, but to a 
Zidonian widow in Sarepta. Messrs. Fisk and King 
passed the place in the summer of 1823. 

Tadmor, a noble city in the north of Canaan. Its 
immediate vicinity was exceedingly fertile, though at a 
little distance all was a sandy desert. It was probably 
built by Solomon, to facilitate his commerce with the 
East. It submitted to Rome, A. D. 130, About 150 
years afterwarxl, the Saracens took it. Here lived Lon- 
ginus. It is now famous, but only for its ruins. About 
30 poor families constitute its population. The modern 
name of the town is Palmyra. 



ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. 73 

TiMNATH, (Gen. xxxviii. 12,) or Timnah, (2 Chron. 
xxviii. 18,) situated on the northern border of Jndah, was 
one of the oldest towns of Canaan. In Samson's time it 
belonged to the Philistines, and he obtained his wife 
there. 

Zemarites, descendants of Canaan, by Zemar, his 
tenth son. — (Gen. x. 18.) 

ZoAR. (Gen. xiv. 2.) A small city, originally called 
Bela, at the southern extremity of the Dead Sea, whose 
king, with four others, rebelled against Chedorlaomer, 
and was conquered. It was afterwards threatened with 
the same destruction as Sodom, but spared at Lot's re- 
quest, who fled to it for safety from the storm of divine 
wrath. — (Gen. xix. 20, 22.) 



THE TOWNS AND CITIES OF JORDAN. 

Abel-meholah. (Judg. vii. 22; 1 Kings xix. 16.) A 
town in the plain of Jordan, about 10 miles south of 
Bethshean, and between that and Shechem — distin- 
guished as the birth-place of Elisha, and as the refuge 
of the Midianites, when pursued by Gideon. 

Bethabara. (John i. 28.) A town on the east bank 
of Jordan, where there was a ford across the river; 
whence the name, ["house of passage."] At this place 
John baptized; and here, too, it is supposed, the Israel- 
ites crossed the Jordan, under the conduct of Joshua. It 
lay about 30 miles north-east of Jerusalem, and is prob- 
ably the same with Beth-barah. — (Judg. vii. 24.) 

Enon. (John iii. 23. A town on the west side of Jor- 
dan, eight or ten miles south of Bethshean, abounding 
in water, and distinguished as a place where John bap- 
tized. 

NiMRiM, a city east of Jordan. — (Isa. xv. 6.) It is 
thought to be the same which St. Jerome calls Nemra. 

The wilderness of Paran, (Gen. xxi. 21,) was situ- 
ated south of Jordan, and extended to the peninsula of 
Sinai, and from the Dead Sea to the desert of Egypt; so 
that, in its largest sense, it included the deserts of Kadesli 
and Zin. It was in this wilderness that Hagar dwelt 
with Ishmael, and to this place David retired, after the 
6 



74 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

death of Samuel. — (1 Sam. xxv. 1.) Nearly all the 
wanderings of the children of Israel were in the great 
and terrible wilderness of Paran, (Deut. i. 19. Comp. 
Num. X. 12, and xii. 16.) It is now a dreary expanse of 
calcareous soil, covered with black flints. 

Zaretan, (Josh. iii. 16,) or Zartanah, (1 Kings iv. 
12,) or Zarthan, (1 Kings vii. 46,) or Zereda, (1 Kings 
xi. 26,) or Zeredatha, (2 Chron. iv. 17,) or Zererath, 
(Judg. vii. 22, are all supposed to denote one and the 
same place, viz. a town on the west bank of Jordan, at 
the place where the Israelites crossed, when the waters 
were gathered into a heap on either side. It was near 
Bethshean, and opposite to Succoth. 

MiDiAN, (Ex. ii. 15,) or Madian. (Acts vii. 29.) A 
country lying around the eastern branch of the Red Sea, 
and supposed to have been settled by the posterity of 
Midian, fourth son of Abraham and Keturah. Midian 
was celebrated for its camels, (Judg. vii. 12,) and the de- 
scendants of Ephah, who were the posterity of Midian, 
were rich in camels and dromedaries.' — (Isa. Ix. 6.) 
Hither Moses fled, and here he married Zipporah, an 
Ethiopian woman, the daughter of Jethro, the priest of 
Midian. — (Ex. ii. 21; iii. 1; Num. xii. 1.) Jethro is 
also called Raguel, (Numb. x. 29,) and Reuel, (Ex. ii. 
18,) and was probably known by either name. It is 
highly probable, too, that he was a descendant of Abra- 
ham, (Gen. xxv. 2,) but what was the nature of his of- 
fice as priest, [or prince, as some say it should be ren- 
dered,] we know not. — (Num. xii. 1.) 

It is supposed that another country called Midian was 
situated on the Dead Sea, in Arabia Petrea, adjoining 
Moab; but very learned geographers describe but one 
land of Midian, and this embraces both sides of the east- 
ern gulf of the Red Sea, extending southwardly near to 
Mt. Sinai. Perhaps they might have been distinguished 
as Northern and Southern Midian. 

There are three distinct countries mentioned in the 
Bible, it is believed, peopled by Gush, (Gen. x. 6 — 8,) 
the son of Ham, and father of Nimrod; and one of them 
was probably the same with Midian. — (Comp. Ex. ii. 
16, 21.) 



ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. 75 

THE CITIES OF THE PHILISTINES, AND PALESTINE. 

The Philistines and the Caphtorim descended from 
Casluhim, the son of Mizraim, who peopled Egypt; and 
their country is perhaps called the isle or country of 
Caphtor. — (Jer. xlvii. 4.) Their territory was allotted 
to the Hehrews; but they neglecting to take possession 
of it, the Philistines were made a severe and lasting 
scourge to them. — (Josh. xiii. 2, 3; xv. 45 — 47; Judg. 
iii. 1 — 3.) The country lying along the Mediterranean 
coast, between Joppa and Gaza, was inhabited by the 
Philistines, and was hence called Palestina; but in Ex. 
XV. 14, and in Isa. xiv. 29 — 31, it seems to denote the 
whole of Judea, as the word Palestine does in its mod- 
ern acceptation. 

AsHDOD, a fortified city of the Philistines, lying in the 
lot of Judah, and called by the Greeks, and known in the 
New Testament, by the name of Azotus. — (Acts viii. 
40.) It was situated on the Mediterranean, between 
Askelon and Ekron, 15 or 20 miles north of Gaza. Here 
was the temple of Dagon, in which the Philistines placed 
the ark. The city was more than once captured. — (2 
Chron. xxvi. 6; Isa. xx. 1.) 

Aphek. (1 Sam. iv. 1 — 11.) A city on the borders of 
Judah and Benjamin, east of Jerusalem, where the Is- 
raelites were defeated by the Philistines, and the ark 
taken from them. This place is supposed to be the same 
which is elsewhere called Aphekah. — (Josh. xv. 53.) 

Askelon. (2 Sam. i. 20.) One of the "fenced cities" 
of the Philistines. It was situated on the eastern shore 
of the Mediterranean, 12 miles south of Gaza. It 
was a noble seaport, and was the birth-place of Herod 
the Great. After the death of Joshua, it fell into the 
hands of the tribe of Judah. — (Judg. i. 18.) At a short 
distance to the north is a small village called Scalona, 
evidently a corruption of the ancient name. 

Ekron. (Josh. xv. 45.) A city of the Philistines, ly- 
ing north west of Gath and north of Ashdod, assigned by 
Joshua originally to the tribe of Judah, (Judg. i. 18,) 
but afterwards said to belong to the tribe of Dan. — 
(Josh. xix. 43.) Neither tribe seems to have been in ac- 
tual possession of the place. — (Judg. i. 34, 35; 1 Sam. 



76 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

V. 10; vi. 17; 2 Kings i. 2; Jer. xxv. 20; Amos i. 8; 
Zeph. ii. 4; Zech. ix. 5, 7.) 

Gaza. (Gen, x. 19.) A city, and one of the five prin- 
cipalities of the Philistines. It was situated on the coast 
of the Mediterranean, at the southern extremity of Ca- 
naan, within the tribe of Judah, (Judg. i. 18; 1 Sam. vi. 
17,) and about 60 miles south-west of Jerusalem. In 
the reigns of Jotham and Ahaz it recovered its indepen- 
dence, but was again subdued by Hezekiah. — (2 Kings 
xviii. 8.) It was afterwards subject to the Persians and 
Chaldeans, and was captured by Alexander the Great, 
about 300 B. C. In th*- time of Eusebius it was a flour- 
ishing city, but has been often reduced since that day, 
and now consists of three small villages, with from 3,000 
to 5,000 inhabitants. Messrs. King and Fisk, .Amer- 
ican missionaries, spent a Sabbath there in 1823. They 
tell us that the city stands on an elevation; the houses 
are built of stone. The scenery around is beautiful. 

They found several Greeks there, and a Greek priest, 
who said the church there had been built twelve cen- 
turies. 

Gerar, (Gen. x. 18,) a capital city of the Philistines, 
was situated south-west of Gaza, between Kadesh and 
Shur, — (Gen. xx. 1.) It is remarkable that both Abra- 
ham and Isaac retired to this place during the prevalence 
of a famine, and were both guilty of deceiving Abime- 
lech, the king of the place, respecting their wives.—- 
(Gen, XX. 1; xxvi, 1.) The Valley of Gerar, (Gen. xxvi* 
17,) was the residence of Isaac, and probably in the vi- 
cinity of the city above described. 

Gath. (Josh. xi. 22,) An acient city in the territory 
of Dan, celebrated as the birth-place of Goliath. — (1 
Sam, xvii. 4.) It was situated about 32 miles west from 
Jerusalem. In the days of David, it was in the posses- 
sion of the Philistines, and Achish was its king, — (1 
Sam, xxi. 10 — 15; xxvii. 1 — 7.) David afterwards 
captured it, — (2 Sam. xv. 18; 1 Chr. xviii. 1.) It was 
afterwards subject to frequent revolutions. — (1 Kings ii. 
39; 2 Kings xii. 17; xiii. 25; 2 Chron. xi. 8; xxvi. 6,) 
The inhabitants of Gath are called Gittites, (Josh. xiii. 
3,) and the place Gittah-hepher. — (Josh. xix. 13.) 

Jabneel, (Josh. XV. 11,) or Jabneh, (2 Chron. xxvi. 



ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. 77 

6,) was a city of the Philistines, situated 12 miles south 
of Joppa. It was called Jamnia by the Greeks and Ro- 
mans and is now called Gebna or Yebna. 

ZiKLAG. (Josh. xix. 5.) A city in the southern ex- 
tremity of the territory of Judah, though allotted to Sim- 
eon. In the time of Saul it was in the hands of the Phil- 
istines, and Achish, their king, granted it to David as a 
temporary residence, when he was flying from the per- 
secution of that wicked monarch. — (1 Sam. xxvii, 6.) 
During the absence of David and the principal men on 
a campaign, the Amalekites burned the city, and made 
the women and children prisoners. 

AccHO, now Acca or Acre, (Judg. i. 31,) or Ptole- 
mais, [so called after the first Ptolemy, king of Egypt, 
into whose hands it fell about 100 years B. C.) was a 
sea-port town on the bay of Acre, over against Mt. Car- 
mel, about 30 miles south of Tyre. It was in the ter- 
ritory assigned to the tribe of Asher, and one of the cit- 
ies Irom which they were unable to expel the Canaan- 
ites; and it is even now considered the strongest place 
in Palestine. It is mentioned in Acts xxi. 7. Its popu- 
lation is from 10,000 to 15,000, chiefly Jews. The re- 
mains of this ancient city are very numerous. Bucking- 
ham, who visited it in 1816, found several fragments of 
buildings, that he had no doubt were constructed in the 
earliest ages, especially thresholds of doors and pillars 
for galleries or piazzas. 

CiESAREA. (Acts xxiii. 33.) A considerable town on 
the coast of the Mediterranean, between Joppa and 
Tyre, about 62 miles from Jerusalem. Anciently it was 
a small town, called Stratonice, or the Tower of Strato; 
it is sometimes called Caesarea of Palestine, to distin- 
guish it from Csesarea Philippi, and is supposed by 
some to be the Hazor of the Old Testament, (Josh. 
xi. 1.) Herod the Great contributed chiefly to the mag- 
nificence of the city, by building some of the most splen- 
did of its edifices, and constructing a fine harbor for it. 
He called it Csesarea, in honor of the Emperor Csesar 
Augustus. After the destruction of Jerusalem, when 
Judea became a Roman province, Cossarea was the chief 
city of Palestine, (Acts xxvi. 27; xxv. 1, 13,) and was 
often visited by Paul, (Acts ix. 30; xviii. 22; xxi. 8,) 



78 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

and it was here that he made his eloquent defence before 
Felix, Festus and Agrippa, (Acts ch. xxiii. xxv. and 
xxvi.,) and here he suffered two years' imprisonment. 
Philip the evangelist resided here, (Acts xxi. 8;) and Eu- 
sebius the historian was born here. Here Cornelius lived, 
(Acts X. 1;) here Agrippa was smitten of worms; and 
here Agabus foretold Paul's imprisonment. — (Acts xxi. 
10, 11.) This is the Caesarea mentioned also in Acts 
viii. 40; ix. 30; xii. 19; xxi. 8; xxiii. 23,33; xxv. 4, 13. 
It is now wholly deserted and desolate; and its ruins 
have long been resorted to for building materials re- 
quired at Accho. The present name of the place is 
Kaisaria. 

Gaza. A city between Palestine and Egypt, and about 
two miles and a half from the Mediterranean Sea. It 
was anciently a city of the Philistines, but included in 
the tribe of Judah, which conquered it after the death of 
Joshua, — (Jud. i. 18.) The Philistines retook it, and 
kept possession of it till the reign of David. Sampson 
carried the gates of it to the top of a high hill, on the 
road towards Hebron; afterwards he was imprisoned 
and died here. — (Judges xvi.) During the reign of Da- 
vid, it was re-conquered by the Jews, and remained sub- 
ject to them many years. During the wars of Alexan- 
der, it was laid waste; and a new town of the same name 
being laid out not far distant, it fell into decay, and be- 
came desolate, according to the prediction in Zeph. ii. 
4. The old town is referred to in Acts viii. 26, as 
"Gaza which is desert." 

Iturea, a region in the north-east part of Palestine, 
thought to have derived its name from Jetur, a son of 
-Ishmael. Hauran was one of its cities, whence the 
province was called Hauiaiitis by the ancients. Philip 
was its tetrarch in the days of Christ. — (Luke iii. 1.) 
The modern name is Houran. 

JoppA. A seaport of Palestine, of very ancient date, 
though possessing an inferior harbor. Its name is 
thought to have been derived from Japhet, son of Noah, 
who founded it. It is now nothing more than a ruinous 
village of fishermen, called by the natives Jaffa. 



A.NCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. 79 

THE CITIES OF JUDEA. 

JuDEA, or Jewry, is a name now applied to the whole 
of Canaan, but it was never so called till after the cap- 
tivity. Sometimes the whole land of Canaan seems in 
the New Testament to have been called Judea, (Gal. i. 
22;) but more properly it was divided into Galilee, Sa- 
maria and Judea. Judea, thus taken, contained the orig- 
inal portions of the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, Dan, and 
Simeon. It consisted of three parts — the plain country, 
on the west; the hill country, southward of Jerusalem; 
and the south, towards the borders of the land of Edom. 
(Matt. iii. 1; Acts ii. 9.) 

Adullam. (Josh. XV. 35.) An ancient and celebra- 
ted city of Judah, 15 or 20 miles south-west of Jerusa- 
lem. The king jof the place was slain by Joshua. It 
was fortified by Rehoboam, and probably on account of 
its strength, was called "the glory of Israel," — Mich. i. 
15.) Near this city was a cave, where David secreted 
himself, when he fled from Achish. The cave, which is 
supposed to be tfie same, was visited by Mr. Whiting, 
an American Missionary, in 1835. He describes it as 
uneven, intricate, and very capacious; and says it is per- 
fectly plain that 400 men might conceal themselves in 
the sides of the cave, as David's men did, and escape 
observation. — (1 Sam. xxii. 1.) 

Arimathea, a city of Judea, generally considered 
to be the same with Ramla, a pleasant town between Je- 
rusalem and Joppa. It is, however, more probably, the 
city of Ramah, in Mt. Ephraim, called Ramathaim, (1 
Sam. i. 1, 19,) and byJosephus, Ramatha. — Matt, xxvii. 
57.) 

Abel-beth-maichah. 2 Kings xv. 29,) a city in the 
northern district of the tribe of Naphtali, lying south- 
east of Caesarea Philippi. To this place Sheba, the son 
of Bichri, fled and posted himself, when pursued by Joab, 
general of the army of David. The citizens, however, 
who feared a siege if they harbored him, cut off his 
head, at the suggestion of a woman, and threw it over 
the wall to Joab. (2 Sam. xx. 14 — 22.) The city was 
afterwards captured. (1 Kings xv. 20; 2 Kings xv, 29.) 
Perhaps the phrase, "mother in Israel," (2 Sam. xx. 



80 llGHT AND TRUTH, 

19,) if it was designed to apply to the place at all, may 
denote its size and importance. In the days of Christ, 
it was called Abila. 

Anathoth. (Josh. xxi. 18.) A city of the tribe of 
Benjamin, situated a few miles north of Jerusalem. It 
was the birth-place of Jeremiah, (Jer. i. 1,) and the sub- 
ject of one of his prophecies, (Jer. xi. 19 — 22,) as well 
as of Isaiah's. (Isa. x. 30.) It is also an interesting 
place in connection with the Jewish history. — (2 Sam. 
xxiii. 27; 1 Kings ii. 26; Neh. vii. 27.) 

Abel-meholah. a city west of Jordan, 10 miles 
south of Bethshan, in the tribe of Manasseh. — (1 
Kings iv. 12.) It was the birth-place of Elisha, — (1 
Kings xix. 16.) Near this city Gideon defeated the Mid- 
ianites. 

Archi. (Josh. xvi. 2.) A town on the southern bor- 
der of Ephraim, between Bethel and Beth-horon the neth- 
er. It is celebrated as the birth-place of Hushai, Da- 
vid's friend. 

Argob, (Deut. iii. 4.) A district of Bashan, the 
kingdom of Og, belonging to the half tribe of Manas- 
seh. It lay east of Jordan, near the sea of Galilee, and 
contained 60 fortified cities. The governor of this place 
is supposed to be intended in 2 Kings xv. 25. 

Bethsaida. (Matt. xi. 21.) There were at least two 
towns of this name in Judea. One was situated on the 
east bank of the Jordan, near where it falls into the sea 
of Tiberias. Near this village was the desert or wilder- 
ness of Bethsaida. — (Matt. xiv. 15 — 21; Luke ix. 10,) 
The other town was called Bethsaida of Galilee, and was 
situated on the west of Jordan, near the sea of Tiberias. 
This was the birth-place of Andrew, Peter and Philip. 

— (Mark xiv. 70; John i. 44.) 

Bethany. (Mark xi. 1.) A village on the south-east 
side of the Mount of Olives, about two miles from Jeru- 
salem. It was the residence of Lazarus and his sisters. 

— (John xi. 1.) Christ often resorted thither, especial- 
ly during the last few days of his ministry; and it was 
the scene of some of the most interesting; events of his 
life. — (Matt. xxi. 17; xxvi. 6; Mark xi.^11, 12; xiv. 3; 
John xi. 1 — 46; xii. 1 — 3.) 

Bethphage. (Matt, xxi.] 1.) A small village on the 



ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. 81 

south-east of Mount Olivet, adjoining Bethany on the 
west, nearly two miles east of Jerusalem, belonging to 
the priests. Here our Savior obtained the ass for his 
lowly triumph. — (Comp. Luke xix. 28 — 40, with Matt, 
xxi.'l — 11.) 

Bethlehem. (Gen. xxxv. 19,) called also Bethlehem 
Ephratah, (Micah v. 2,) was so inconsiderable a place 
as to be omitted in the general lists of the cities of Ju- 
dah. — (Josh, xv.; Neh. xi.) It was the birth-place of 
David, (Luke ii. 4, 11,) and was still more sacred and 
celebrated as the birth-place of the Redeemer. — (Matt. 
ii. 1 ; Luke ii. 4 — 6.) This city was about six miles 
south of Jerusalem. It is called Ephratah and Eph- 
rath, and its inhabitants Ephrathites, from its founder. 

Beeroth. (Josh. ix. 17; 2 Sam. iv. 2, 3.) A city of 
Benjamin, situated at the foot of the hill on which Gib- 
eon was built, a few miles north-east of Jerusalem. — 
A place of the same name was also a station of the Is- 
raelites, (Deut. X. 6,) and is called Bene-jaakan. — 
(Num. xxxiii. 31.) 

Bezek. (Judges i, 4.) A city in the tribe of Judah, 
where the Canaanites suffered a severe slaughter, and 
their king was taken prisoner. It was at Bezek that 
Saul mustered his army, before the attack on Jabesh-gi- 
lead. Ancient geographers speak of two towns by 
the name of Bezek, situated near each other, about 17 
miles from Sichem, on the way to Beth-shan. 

The Cities of Refuge, (Deut. xix. 7, 9; Josh. xx. 
2, 7, 8,) were six of the Levitical cities, divinely ap- 
pointed by the Jewish law as asylums, to which those 
were commanded to flee, for safety and protection, who 
might unintentionally kill a fellow being. 

Decapolis, (Matt. iv. 25.) Usually described as a pro- 
vince or canton of Judea, within the half tribe ofManas- 
seh, east of the Jordan; but probably the name is ap- 
plied to ten detached cities of Persia, which might have 
been united in some alliance or confederacy, not extend- 
ing to the residue of the district within which they were 
situated. Geographers generally agree that Scythopo- 
lis was the chief of these cities. 

Etam. a city in Judah, built by Rehoboam, (1 Chron. 
iv. 32; 2 Chron. xi. 6,) and lying between Bethlehem 



82 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

and Tekoah. Modern maps place it in the tribe of Sim- 
eon, east of Gaza. There was a famous rock of this 
name, probably near this city. — (Judg. xv. 8, 11.) 

The tower of Edah was the place to which Jacob 
removed, after the death of Rachel. — (Gen. xxxv. 
21.) It is called, also, the "tower of the flocks." — 
(Micah iv. 8.) It was a place of fine pasturage, about 
a mile from Bethlehem, supposed to be the very spot 
on which the Ethiopian shepherds received the an- 
nouncement of the birth of Christ. It is very remarka- 
ble that the Targum of Jonathan calls it "the place 
where King Messiah shall be revealed in the end of 
days." 

GiBEON. (Josh. X. 2; 1 Chron. xvi. 39.) A great 
city in Benjamin, five to seven miles northerly of Jeru- 
salem, inhabited by Hivites, who secured the protection 
and alliance of Joshua by stratagem, (Josh. ix. 4 — 15,) 
and were consequently attacked by the five Canaanitish 
kings, but delivered by the aid of the Israelites. — (Josh. 
X. 10; Isa. xxviii. 21.) In the close of David's and be- 
ginning of Solomon's reign, the sanctuary was there. — 
(1 Chron. xvi. 39, 40; xxi. 29.) 

GiBEAH. (1 Sam. xiii. 2.) A city a few miles north 
of Jerusalem, called Gibeah of [the children of] Ben- 
jamin, (2 Sam. xxiii. 29,) in distinction from one in Ju- 
dah — (Josh. xv. 57.) It was also called Gibeah of Saul, 
(2 Sam. xxi. 6,) because it was his birth-place and res- 
idence. — (1 Sam X. 26; Isa. x. 29.) Its inhabitants 
were eminently wicked, as they evinced by their conduct, 
recorded in Judg. xix. 30, to which Hosea refers as pro- 
verbial — (Hos ix. 9; x. 9.) The city was terribly de- 
stroyed. — (Judg. XX. 46.) 

Geba, (2 Kings xxiii. 8,) called also Geba of Benja- 
min, (Josh. xxi. 17; 1 Kings xv 22,) probably to distin- 
guish it from another town of the same name, was one of 
the most northerly towns of Judea. Hence the expres- 
sions in 2 Kings xxiii 8, and Zech. xiv. 10, denote the 
length of the land. It was in the vicinity of this place 
that the Philistines were defeated by David's army. — 
(2 Sam. V. 25.) 

Gath-hepher. (2 Kings xiv. 25.) A city in the tribe 
of Zebulon, and probably in the land of Hepher. — (1 



ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. 83 

Kings iv. 10.) It is noted as the birth-place of the 
prophet Jonah. 

Gath-rimmon. (Josh. xix. 45.) It would seem that 
there were at least three cities of this name; one in the 
tribe of Dan, (Josh. xxi. 24;) a second in the half tribe 
of Manasseh, (Josh. xxi. 25;) and a third in the tribe of 
Ephraim. — (1 Chron. vi. 69.) 

GiLGAL. 1. A city near Jericho, where was an altar. 
— (1 Sam xi, 15.) Idols were worshipped here in after 
times. (Hos. iv. 15.) 2. A city near Antipatris. — 
(Josh. xii. 23.) There remained a village on this spot, 
calledrGalgulis, for several hundred years after Christ. 

Hebron, (Num. xiii. 22,) so called after a son of Ca- 
leb, was one of the most ancient cities of Judea, and 
was originally called Kirjath-Arba, or the city of Arba, 
from its being the residence of a famous giant of that 
name. — (Josh. xiv. 15.) Moses calls it Mamre. — (Gen. 
xxiii. 19; xxxv. 27.) It was situated on an eminence 
from 20 to 30 miles south of Jerusalem, and nearly 100 
from Nazareth, (Luke i. 39,) and is still known as the 
flourishing town of Habroun, or El-khalil, which means 
"the friend," or "the beloved," (2 Chron. xx. 7;) cel- 
ebrated for the manufacture of glass. 

Jerusalem. (Josh, xviii. 28.) The capital of the 
kingdom of Judah. It was probably once called Salem, 
(Gen. xiv. 18; Ps. Ixxvi. 2; Heb. vii. 1,2,) and in the 
days of Abraham was the abode of Melchizedek, who, 
as some suppose, built the city, and was its king. — (Gen. 
xiv. 18; Heb. vii.; Ps. xlviii. 2, 13; cxxv. 1, 2.) The 
ancient Salem was probably built upon Acra and Moriah, 
the eastern and western hills. It stands 42 miles east of 
the Mediterranean. When the Jebusites became mas- 
ters of it, they called it Jebus, (Judg. xix. 10,) or Jebu- 
si, (Joshua xviii. 28,) and erected a fortress in the south- 
ern quarter of the city, which was afterwards called 
Mount Zion, but to which they gave the name of their 
ancestor, Jebus. The city was surrounded with a strong 
wall, 40 or 50 feet high. Its general form is nearly a 
heptagon, or seven sided. The circumference is nearly 
three miles. When the Israelites took possession of the 
promised land, under Joshua, the children of Benjamin 
did not drive out the Jebusites who inhabited Jerusalem; 



84 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

but continued to dwell with them. [And the children of 
Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, Hittites, and Amo- 
rites, and Perizzites, and Hivites, and Jebusites. And 
they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave 
their daughters to their sons, and served their gods.] — 
(Josh, xviii. 28; Judg. iii. 5, 6.) Although the Israel- 
ites took possession of the surrounding territory, the Jeb- 
usites still held the castle of Zion, or upper town, until 
the time of David, who wrested it from them. — (2 Sam. 
V. 7 — 9.) [So David took the castle of Zion, which is 
the city of David. And David dwelt in the castle; there- 
fore they called it the city of David. And he bunt the 
city round about, even from Millo round about; and Jo- 
ab repaired the rest of the city. So David waxed great- 
er and greater, for the Lord of Hosts was with him.] 

Jerusalem was the place selected by the Almighty for 
his dwelling, and here his glory was rendered visible. 
This was the "perfection of beauty," and the "glory of 
all lands," Here David sat, and tuned his harp, and 
sung the praises of Jehovah. Hither the colored tribes 
came up to worship. Here enraptured prophets saw 
bright visions. of the world above, and received messa- 
ges from on high for guilty man. Here our Lord and 
Savior came in the form of a servant, and groaned, and 
wept, and poured out his soul unto death, to redeem 
us from sin, and save us from the pains of hell. Here, 
too, the wrath of an incensed God has been poured out 
upon his chosen people, and has laid waste his heritage. 

Jezreel. (Josh. xix. 18.) A royal city within the 
bounds of Manasseh, in the valley of Jezreel, where the 
tidings of Saul's death, in the battle at Gilboa, were first 
announced, (2 Sam. iv. 4,) and where his son Ishbosh- 
eth reianed after his father's death. — (2 Sam. ii. 9.) It 
is worthy of remark, that the fountain in Jezreel, where 
the Israelites encamped before the battle of Gilboa, (1 
Sam. xxix. 1,) was the very spot where the crusaders en- 
camped in 1183, when on the eve of a battle with Sala- 
din. Ahab and Joram resided at Jezreel, )t Kings xviii, 
45; 2 Kings ix. 15,) and Jezebel and Joram were slain 
there, by Jehu. — (2 Kings ix. 24 — 33.) There was also 
a city in Judah of this name. — (Josh, xv, 5Q.) 

Jericho, (Num. xxii. 1,) one of the oldest cities in the 



ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. 85 

Holj Land, was situated in the tribe of Benjamin, about 
20 miles from Jerusalem, and two from the river Jordan. 
This city, which was next in size to Jerusalem, was be- 
sieged and subdued by the Israelites immediately aiter 
the passage of the Jordan. The siege was conducted 
under the divine direction; and, at a given signal, by 
the irnmediate interposition of miraculous power, the 
walls fell flat to the earth, probably destroying many 
lives, and throwing the citizens into universal conster- 
nation. The Israelites marched directly to the heart of 
the city, and in obedience to the express command of 
God, they put to death every living creature, except Ra- 
hab and her family, and the two men sent as spies from 
the camp of Israel, (Josh. ii. 1, 2,) whom she had con- 
cealed. The city itself was then set on fire; every thing 
in it, except the vessels of gold, silver, brass and iron, 
which were previously removed, was burnt to ashes, and 
the very site of it was cursed. — (Comp. Josh. vi. 26; 
1 Kings xvi. 34.) 

Jabesh, (1 Sam. xi. 5,) or Jabesh-Gilead, (Judg. xxi. 
8,) was situated at the foot of Mt. Gilead, within the 
territory of Manasseh. 

JoKNEHAM, (Josh. xii. 22,) was a city of Zebulon. — 
(Josh. xxi. 34.) It was situated south of Ptolemais, near 
the bay, and is called of Carmel, because it was at the 
foot of that mountain, 

Kabzeel, (Josh. XV. 21.) or Jekabzeel, (Neh. xi. 25,) 
was a city in the northern section of the inheritance of 
Judah, just west of the southern extremity of the Dead 
Sea. It was the birth-place of Benaiah. — (2 Sam. xxiii. 
20.) 

Kenath. (Num. xxxii. 42.) A city of Manasseh, 
east of Jordan, the supposed ruins of which are called 
Kahnat. It is situated on a brook of the same name, 
and there are indications of its having been once a splen- 
did city. 

KiRJATH, (Josh, xviii 28,) called also Kirjath-jearim, 
Kirjath-baal, and Baalah, (Josh. xv. 9, 60; 1 Chron. xiii. 
6,) was on or near the boundary line between Judah 
and Benjamin, and is therefore mentioned in the above 
passages as a city of both tribes; though in Judg. xviii. 
12, and 2 Sam. vi. 2, it is called a city of Judah. This 



86 , LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

was the native place of Urijah the prophet, (Jer. xxvi. 
20,) and it was here that the ark remained many years, 
(1 Sam. vii. 1, 2; 2 Sam, vi. 2,) after it had been re- 
stored by the Philistines. 

Lachish, (Josh. X. 3.) A city of Judah, lying south 
of Jerusalem, and towards the border of Simeon. It was 
one of the Canaanitish cities, which was subdued by 
Joshua, but it was afterwards rebuilt by Jeroboam, (2 
Chron. xi. 9,) and sustained a severe and fruitless siege 
by the Assyrians. (2 Kings xviii. 17; xix. 8; 2 Chron. 
xxxii. 9; Jer. xxxiv. 7.) 

Lydda. a large village or city, not far from Joppa, 
(Acts ix. 38,) eminent for its schools of learned Jews, 
It was burnt by Cestius, while its males were gone 
to Jerusalem to the feast of tabernacles — God, after 
the crucifixion, not taking the care of them at these 
times, as he had formerly done. It is now called Dios- 
polis. 

LiBNAH. (Josh. xxi. 13.) A city in the western part 
of Judah, (Josh. xv. 42,) assigned to the priests, and a 
city of refuge. — (1 Chron. vi. 57.) Its inhabitants re- 
volted from Joram, (2 Kings viii. 22,) and were defeated 
by the Assyrians. (2 Kings xix. 8 ) Another Libnah 
was situated near Mt. Sinai, (Num. xxxiii. 20,) and a 
third in the country of Asher, (Josh. xix. 26,) called 
there Shihor-Libnath. 

MizPAH, (1 Kings XV. 22,) or Mizpeh, (Josh. xv. 38.) 
This name is given to several places, and implies a post 
of observation or a watch-tower. They seem to have been 
known as places of convocation on public occasions, re- 
ligious and civil. 1. (Josh. xv. 38.) A city in the ter- 
ritory of Judah, north of Hebron, and nearly 20 miles 
south from Jerusalem. Some geographers place it in the 
tribe of Benjamin. — (Josh, xviii. 26.) Samuel dwelt at 
Mizpah, (1 Sam. vii. 5, 6,) and Saul was anointed king 
there, (1 Sam. x. 17 — 24;) and hither it is supposed the 
Jews often resorted for business and devotion. — ( Judg. 
XX. 1; 1 Sam. vii. 5 — 1 ; x. 17.) It was fortified by Asa, 
with the stone and timber which Baasha had been using 
for the like purpose at Rama, (1 Kings xv. 22,) and was 
the residence of Gedaliah, the governor appointed by 
Nebuchadnezzar, after his subjection of the land. — (Jer. 



ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. 87 

xl. 6.) We find it rebuilt after the return from Babylon 
— (Neh. iii. 19.) 2. (Gen. xxxi. 49.) A city in the ter- 
ritory of Gad, where Laban and Jacob entered into a 
covenant of friendship, and where Jephthah resided and 
mustered his army. — (Judg. xi. 11, 29.) 

Mareshah. (Josh. XV. 44.) A town of Judah, fa- 
mous as the scene of the battle between Asa, king of 
Judah, and Zerah, king of Ethiopia, with his numerous 
armv. It was also the residence of the prophet Micah. 

— (Mic. i. 15.) 

Medeba. (Josh. xiii. 16.) A city in the eastern part 
of the territory of Reuben, which still retains nearly its 
ancient name, Madaba. The site of the old town shows 
the ruins of a temple, and the excavations of ponds and 
reservoirs. 

Nob, (1 Sam. xxii. 19,) was a city of the priests in 
the territory of Benjamin, and within sight of Jerusalem 
on the north. To this place David fled from the fury of 
Saul, and obtained from Abimelech, the high priest, 
some of the shew-bread, to satisfy his hunger; and also 
Goliah's sword for his defence. For this act Saul caused 
the city and all that was in it to be destroyed, 

Ophni. (Josh, xviii. 24.) A city of Benjamin, latter- 
ly called Gophna, between Shechem and Jerusalem. It 
is mentioned by profane historians among the places 
through which Vespasian and Titus passed, in their 
march of conquest. 

Rama, (Matt. ii. 18,) or Ramah, (1 Sam. i. 19,) was 
a small town, situated on an eminence in the territory of 
Benjamin, (Josh, xviii. 25,) and about six miles north of 
Jerusalem, on the way to Bethel. The name Rama, or 
Ramoth, signifies an eminence, and hence is a constituent 
part of the names of several places, and is sometimes 
used generally for any high place. It was here that the 
Jews were assembled after the destruction of Jerusalem 
by Nebuzaradan, (Jer. xl. 1,) to take their departure 
from their beloved country, and to go as captives into a 
land of strangers, if not of tyrants. It was this place 
that Baasha, king of Israel, once possessed and fortified; 
but the king of Judah, by stratagem, vrrested it from him. 

— (1 Kings XV. 17.) Near to Ramah, Rachel was buried ; 
and she is represented by the prophet (Jer. xxxi. 15,) as 



88 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

weeping over the loss of her children, and refusing to 
be comforted because of their captivity. This, though 
called Ramathaim-zophim, was also the place of Sam- 
uel's birth, residence, death and burial, and where he 
anointed Saul as king — (1 Sam. i. 1, 19; ii. 11; vii. 17; 
viii. 4; xix. 18; xxv. 1,) Ramah, or Ramathaim, or Ra- 
mathaim-zophim, of the Old, is the Arimathea of the 
New Testament, where dwelt Joseph, in whose tomb the 
body of Christ was buried. — (John xix. 38.) There is 
now a village on the hill where was the site of Ramah, 
called Samuele by the Arabs. Jerusalem is easily seen 
from this height. There was another Rama in Naphtha- 
li. — (Josh. xix. 36.) 

SiBMAH, (Isa. xvi. 8, 9,) or Shibmah, (Num. xxxii. 38.) 
A city of Reuben, near by Heshbon, celebrated for the 
luxuriant growth of the vine. — (Jer. xlviii. 32 ) It fell 
into the hands of the Moabites after the captivity of 
Reuben, Gad and Manasseh, by Tiglath-pileser; and 
hence the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah weep for Moab,' 
because the spoiler had broken the vines of Sibmah. 
Probably the expression in the passage from Jeremiah 
refers either to the universal reputation of the vines of 
Sibmah, or it is poetically used to denote the luxuriance 
of their growth. The "Sea of Jazer" was perhaps 15 
or 20 miles from Sibmah. 

Shunem. (Josh xix. 18.) A town in the territory of 
Issachar, and a little south of Nain. It is associated 
with several important incidents of Jewish history, (1 
Sam xxviii. 4; 1 Kings i. 3; 2 Kings viii. 1 — 16,) and 
esr>ecially as the place where Elisha tarried on his jour- 
neys between Gilgal and Carmel, and where he per- 
formed a miracle under circumstances of unusual inter- 
est. — (2 Kings iv. 8 — 37.) The inhabitants were called 
Shunamites 

Shiloh, (Josh, xviii. 1,) where Samuel began to 
prophesy, (1 Sam iii 21,) and where Abijah lived, 1) 
Kings xiv. 2,) was a city of Ephraim between Lebanon 
and Bethel, 10 miles south of Shechem, and about 25 
miles north of Jerusalem. Here Joshua fixed the tab- 
ernacle of God, and here it continued at least 3 10 years. 
Shiloh was one of the names of Jesus Christ — the great 
Deliverer — he that frees from the law, sin and death. 



ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. 89 

—(Gen. xlix. 10.) It denotes the Redeemer, the author 
of our happiness, and our sole peace-maker with God. 

Tekoa, a city of Judah, 12 miles south-east of Jeru- 
salem. Around it was an extensive wilderness, or pas- 
ture land, and forest. Amos, the prophet, kept a herd 
here, before his call to the ministry. — (Amos i. 1.) 

Thebez. (Judg. ix. 50.) A city north-east of She- 
chem, within the territory of Ephraim, celebrated as the 
place where Abimelech was slain. 

ZoRAH, (Josh. xix. 41,) or Zoran. A city belonging 
originally to Judah, and afterwards to Dan, near the 
boundary line between them; the birth-place of Samson, 
(Judg. xiii. 2,) and probably fortified by Rehoboam. — 
(2 Chron. xi. 10.) It is called Zoreah, (Josh. xv. 33,) 
and its inhabitants are called Zorites, (1 Chron. ii. 54,) 
and Jorathites. — (1 Chr. iv. 2.) 

Zemaraim, a city of Benjamin, not far from Bethel, 
near which was fought a bloody battle in the days of 
Jeroboam I. (Josh, xviii. 22.) 

The valley of Zephatha, (2 Chron. xiv. 9 — 13,) was 
in the south-western section of the territory of Judah, 
near Mareshah, and is memorable for the battle of the 
Jews with the Ethiopians. There was also a city of this 
name, [Zephath,] within the bounds of Simeon. — (Judg. 
i. 17.) 

Judea may be called a mountainous country. The 
principal mountains mentioned in scripture are Seir, Ho- 
reb, Sinai, Hor, Gilboa, Nebo, Tabor, Engedi, Leba- 
non, Ebal, Amalek, Gerizim, Gilead, Moriah, Paran, 
Gahash, Olivet, Pisgah, Hermon and Carmel. 



THE CITIES OF GALILEE. 

Galilee was the northern part of Canaan, compre- 
hending Issachar, Zebulon, Naphtali and Asher. The 
upper part was called Galilee of the Gentiles, from its 
containing many Gentile mhabitants out of the neighbor- 
ing nations; as the Phoenicians, Syrians, &c. — a mix- 
ture of colored population. Peter was detected by his 
speech, as being a Galilean.— (Mark xiv. 70.) Our 
Savior and most of the disciples were educated here; 
7 



90 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

and here were most of the miracles wrought. On this 
account, Jesus and his followers were often called Gali- 
leans. — (Luke xxiii. 6 ; Acts ii. 7.) 

Capernaum, a principal city of Galilee. It stood on 
the western shore of the Sea of Tiberias, in the border 
of Zebulon and Naphtali, not far from Bethsaida. It re- 
ceived its name from a clear fountain adjacent. Here 
Christ resided and taught, and here Matthew was called. 
It is now called Talhume. 

Nazareth. (Matt. xxi. 11.) A town in Galilee, with- 
in the territory of Zebulon, from 50 to 70 miles north of 
Jerusalem, now known as Nassera or Naserah. It was 
noted for its wickedness. — (John i. 46.) It occupies 
an elevated site about midway between Mt. Tabor and 
Cana. Jesus spent much of his time here; and hence 
the title, Jesus of Nazareth. — (Mark xvi. 6; Luke xxiv. 
19; Acts ii. 22.) A precipice of 50 feet, which lies 
about a mile from the village, is regarded as the place 
to which the people of the town carried Jesus, with the 
savage intention of casting him off. — (Luke iv. 29.) 
There is a Roman Catholic Church here, called the 
Church of the Annunciation. ' 

Nain. (Luke vii. 11.) ^A city of Galilee, south of 
Mt. Tabor, and but a little distance from Capernaum. 
It is now a Turkish village, inhabited by Jews, Moham- 
medans, and a few Christians. The place is distinguish- 
ed as the scene of one of Christ's most remarkable and 
affecting miracles. — (Luke vii. 11 — 15.) 

Naioth. (1 Sam. xix. 22.) A part of the town of 
Ramah, [or, as the word signifies, "the meadows of 
Ramah,"] where a school of the prophets was estab- 
lished. 

Tiberias, a city of Galilee, built by Agrippa, and so 
named in honor of the Emperor Tiberias. *» Hegesippus 
says it was the same as Cinnereth. In the time of the 
Jewish wars, this city, then the capital of Galilee, was 
bravely defended by Josephus the historian; but being 
taken by Vespasian, it was almost demolished. It was, 
however, a place of considerable note for many ages 
after. After the destruction of Jerusalem it flourished 
greatly, having 13 synagogues and a famous acadeiiay, 
over which a succession of Jewish doctors presided, till 



ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. 91 

the fourth century. Here was held the last session of 
the Sanhedrim, and here the Talmud was collected. It 
is still a decent town, and around it are extensive ruins, 
indicative of its former extent and grandeur. 30 or 40 
families of Greek Catholics reside here. The present 
name of this town is Tabaria. 



THE CITIES OF ASIA MINOR. 

The Asia of the Bible is a peninsula, on the western 
or south-western side of the continent of Asia, which 
stretches into the Mediterranean or Great Sea, extend- 
ing east as far as the Euphrates, west to the islands of 
the sea, north to what is now called the Black sea, and 
south to the Mediterranean Sea. It includes the prov- 
inces of Bithynia, Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Cilicia, 
Pamphylia, Pisidia, Lycaonia, Phrygia, Mysia, Troas, 
Lydia, Lysia, and Caria. 

Assyria. (2 Kings xv. 19.) A most powerful empire 
of Asia, the history of which, both in its glory and in 
its overthrow, is most significantly told by the prophet. 
— (Ezek. xxxi.) It was founded probably by Nimrod, 
120 years after the deluge. 

CuTH, or Cutha, (2 Kings xvii. 24, 30,) was evident- 
ly, from the connection, a province of Assyria; and Cusli 
is the marginal reading for Ethiopia in Gen. ii. 13, Hab. 
iii. 7, and elsewhere. 

Lydia. (Ezek. xxx. 5.) There was a celebrated 
kingdom of Asia Minor known by this name, of which 
Sardis was the capital. It is supposed to have been set- 
tled by the posterity of Lud, a son of Shem. It had 
Mysia on the north, Phrygia on the east, Caria on the 
south, and the -^gean Sea on the west. It was once un- 
der the dominion of Crcesus, the wealthiest monarck of 
his age. It was, in the time of the apostles, a province 
of the Roman empire. The Lydia of the above cited 
passage is supposed to refer to a place or a people in 
Africa. 

Bithynia. (Acts xvi. 7. A province of Asia Minor. 
It is bounded on the east by Paphlagonia, north by the 
Black Sea, and south by Phrygia and Galatia. It is di- 



92 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

rectly opposite to Constantinople. The gospel was in-s 
troduced into this province at an early period. (Comp^ 
Acts ii. 9, and 1 Peter i. 1.) There is a remarkable tes- 
timony in ecclesiastical history, to the purity and firm- 
ness of the Christians of Bithynia, at the close of the 
first and the beginning of the second century. 

CiLiciA. (Acts xxi. 39.) A province in the south- 
eastern district of Asia Minor, lying on the northern 
coast, at the eastern extremity of the Mediterranean 
Sea. Its capital city was Tarsus, the birth-place of 
Paul. The synagogue of "them of Cilicia" (Acts vi. 
9,) was a place of Jewish worship at Jerusalem, appro- 
priated to the use of Jews who might be at Jerusalem, 
from the province of Cilicia. A similar custom in mod- 
ern times is the fitting up of public houses to accommo- 
date strangers from particular States or countries. Paul, 
being of this province, was probably a member of this 
synagogue, and perhaps one of the defeated opposers 
and controvertists of Stephen. — (Comp. Acts vi. 10, 
and vii. 58.) 

CoLOssE. (Col. i. 2.) A city of Phrygia in Asia 
Minor, on the river Lycus, [now the Gorduk.] About 
a year after Paul's epistle was written to the church at 
this place, it was destroyed by an earthquake. The for- 
mer site of Colosse is now occupied by the castle and 
village of Chonos. 

Cappadocia. a province in the north-eastern part of 
Asia Minor, peopled by the descendants of Togarmah, 
and once forming part of the kingdom of Lydia. It was 
famous for horses, mules and flocks; and traded in these 
with the Tyrians. — (Ezek. xxvii. 14.) According to 
Herodotus, it submitted to the Medes, and then to the 
Persians, parts of whose worship the inhabitants incor- 
porated with their own idolatry. It afterwards formed a 
part of the vast Roman empire. Christianity was intro- 
duced here in the days of the apostles, (Acts ii. 9,) and 
continues to this day. At the village of Dacora, in this 
province, was born Eunomius the Arian. Some of its 
early pastors were very distinguished for piety and learn- 
ing. 

Derbe. (Acts xiv. 6.) A town of Lycaohia, east of 
Iconium, whither Paul and Barnabas fled when expelled 



ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. 93 

from Lystra, and where they preached the gospel with 
sHCcess. (Acts xiv. 20.) Derbe was the native place 
of Gaius. — (Acts xx. 4.) 

Ephesus. (Acts xix, 35.) A celebrated city of Asia 
Minor, said to have been built by Ephesus, an Amazon 
lady, as early as the days of David. It was situated on 
the river Cayster, near its mouth about 30 miles south 
of Smyrna, and was the ornament and metropolis of pro- 
consular Asia, and celebrated for a magnificent temple 
of Diana. This temple was 425 feet in length, 220 in 
breadth, and was supported by 100 columns, each 60 
feet in height. The building of it occupied 200 years. 
When Paul came to the city, A. D. 54, he commenced 
preaching in the Jewish synagogue. The blessing of 
God attended his ministry. 

Galatia. (Acts xvi. 6.) A province of Asia Minor, 
lying east of Phrygia, and called Galatia by the Gauls, 
who were the original settlers of it. Christianity was 
introduced into this province by the apostle Paul, who 
was there once with Silas and Timothy, (Acts xvi. 6,) 
about the year 53, and again four or five years after- 
wards, on his return from Corinth. — (Acts xviii. 23.) 

HiERAPOLis. A city near Colosse, early blessed with 
gospel light. — (Col. iv. 13.) It was destroyed by an 
earthquake in the time of the apostles. The ruins are 
still visible, and the place is called by the Turks, Pam- 
buk Kalasi. 

IcoNiuM. (Acts xiii. 51.) A city of ancient Lycaonia, in 
Asia Minor, at the foot of Mt. Taurus, now called Conia, 
or Cogni, the capital of Caramania, and residence of a 
pacha. It contains at present about 15,000 inhabitants. 
It was visited by Paul and Barnabas, who preached the 
gospel there, and were so persecuted in consequence of 
it, as to be obliged to leave the place. — (Acts xiv. 1 — 
6.) Iconium is mentioned by several ancient historians. 
Strabo says it was well built, and situated in the richest 
part of the province; a place of some consequence, and 
strongly fortified by walls four miles in extent. Multi- 
tudes were here converted to Christianity, A. D. 45 or 
46. — (Acts xvi. 1 — 3.) The church thus planted may 
be traced through eight succeeding centuries. 

Lycaonia. (Acts xvi. 6 — 11.) A province of Asia 



94 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

Minor, which the apostle Paul twice visited. It was sep- 
arated from Phrygia, and created into a Roman province, 
by Augustus, and was bounded north by Galatia, east by 
Cappadocia, south by Cilicia, and west by Pisidia and 
Phrygia. Its chief towns were Iconium, Derbe and 
Lystra. It is now a part of Caramania, and subject to 
the Turks. The speech of this province, (Acts xiv. 11,) 
is supposed to have been either the old Assyrian lan- 
guage, or a corruption of the Greek. 

Miletus, or Miletum. A seaport of Caria, in Lesser 
Asia, and the capital of both Caria and Ionia. It stood 
about 36 miles south-west of Ephesus, and is said to have 
been built by Miletus, the son of the god Apollo, whose 
temple here was exceedingly magnificent. Here were 
four harbors, sufficient to hold all the Persian fleet. Here 
Thales and Anaximenes, the philosophers, and Timothe- 
us, the musician, were born. 

Mesech, (Ps. cxx. 5,) or Mesech, (Ezek. xxxii. 26.) 
A country in the north-eastern angle of Asia Minor, sup- 
posed to have been settled by the posterity of Mesech, 
the son of Japheth. They had considerable comnierce 
with Tyre. — (Ezek. xxvii. 13.) Some suppose the Mus- 
covites were of this race. The terms Mesech and Ke- 
dar, in the above passage from Psalms, is supposed to 
denote northern and southern barbarians generally. 

Mysia. (Acts xvi, 7.) A province of Asia Minor, 
and at this day a beautiful and fertile country. It has 
the sea of Propontis on the north, Lydia on the south, 
Bithynia on the east. In the northern section of Mysia 
was the province in which the ancient city of Troy was 
situated, and not far distant was the Troas mentioned by 
Paul.— (Acts xvi. 8; xx. 6; 2 Cor. ii. 12; 2 Tim. iv. 13.) 

Philadelphia. (Rev, iii. 7 — 13.) A city of the prov- 
ince of Lydia, about 70 miles east of Smyrna. Its mod- 
ern name is Allah-shehr, or Alah-sher, [city of 'God. ] 
It contains a population of about 15,000, one twelfth of 
whom are nominal Christians. This church was highly 
commended; more than any of the seven churches of 
Asia, and while her sister cities have fallen into decay, 
she still survives, v/ith the remains of her Christian 
temples and worship. Her population is said to be the 
purest in Asia Minor. Even Gibbon says of her: 



ANCIENT qjTIES AND KINGDOMS. 95 

"Among the Greek colonies and churches of Asia, Phil- 
adelphia is still erect — a column in a scene of ruins." 

PisiDiA. (Acts xiii. 14.) A province of Asia Minor, 
north of Pamphylia. Antioch, though within the prov- 
ince of Phrygia, belonged to Pisidia, and was called 
Antioch in [or of] Pisidia, to distinguish it from An- 
tioch in Syria. Paul labored in the gospel, not only 
at Antioch, but throughout the province. — (Acts xiv. 
24.) 

PoNTUS. (1 Pet. i. 1.) The north-eastern province 
of Asia Minor, lying along the Black Sea, having Col- 
chis on the east, Cappadocia south, and Paphlagonia 
west. Many Jews resided here in the time of Christ, 
(Acts ii. 9,) and the gospel was early introduced, and en- 
tertained by many, whom Peter addresses in his first 
epistle. Aquila, Paul's companion, was of this province. 
— (Acts xviii. 2.) It became a province of Rome in the 
time of Pompey. 

Phrygia. (Acts ii. 10.) The largest province of 
Asia Minor, having Bithynia north, and Lysia south. Its 
chief towns were Colosse, Laodicea, and Hierapolis. 
Some of the inhabitants were at Jerusalem, and among 
the converts on the day of Pentecost. The province 
was more than once visited by the apostle Paul. 

Patara. (Acts xxi. 1.) A large, rich, seaport town 
of Lysia, lying over against Rhodes, at the mouth of the 
Xanthus, called, by Ptolemy Philadelphus, king of 
Egypt, Arsinoe, in honor of his queen. Here Paul took 
ship for Phosnicia, when going from Philippi to Jerusa- 
lem, 

Pergamos. The ancient metropolis of Mysia, and 
the residence of the Attalian kings. It stands on a rich 
and spacious plain, near the banks of the Caicus, and 
was famous for its extent and grandeur; for a temple to 
Esculapius; for a library of 200,000 volumes, which was 
removed to Egypt by Cleopatra; and for its being the 
birth place of the celebrated Galen. Parchment was 
invented here, and received its name from the place. 

Sardis. (Rev. i. 11.) A city of Ancient Lydia, and 
the site of one of the seven churches of Asia. Its modern 
name is Sart, and it lies about 30 miles south-east of 
Thyatira. It is, however, but a miserable village, in- 



96 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

habited chiefly by shepherds, though it is one of the stop- 
ping-places of the Persian caravans. The original city 
was plundered by Cyrus, and afterwards desolated by 
an earthquake, the ruins of it being still visible a little 
distance to the south of the present town. 

Telabib. (Ezek. iii. 15.) A town on the river Che- 
bar, where Ezekiel and many of the Jewish exiles dwelt. 
Its site is supposed to be occupied by the modern Thel- 
abar. 

Troas. (Acts xvi. 8.) A maritime city of Mysia, on 
the Mediterranean, near the mouth of the Hellespont, 
four miles from the ancient Troy, and built chiefly with 
materials from its ruins. The celebrated siege and cap- 
ture of Troy occurred, according to Sir Isaac Newton, 
about 904 years B. C. or during the reign of Jehosaphat. 
Paul visited Troas repeatedly. — (Acts xx. 5 — 12; 2 Cor. 
ii. 12; 2 Tim. iv. 13.) 



THE CITIES OF PERSIA AND MEDIA. 

Persia. (Ezek. xxvii. 10.) An ancient kingdom of 
Asia, whose limits have varied considerably at different 
periods. The kingdom, as such, was founded by Cyrus, 
its inhabitants having been anciently called Elamites, 
from their ancestor Elam, the son of Shem, and in later 
times Parthians. The thrones of Media and Persia 
were united under Cyrus, B. C. 536, (Comp. Dan. vi. 8, 
12;) and indeed the whole country, from Egypt to the 
Ganges, became incorporated in what was called the 
Persian empire. 

The celebrated city of Persepolis. The following 
is a correct view of the celebrated ruins of Persepolis, 
the ancient capital of Persia, which, in the days of its 
prosperity, was one of the wealthiest and most ancient 
cities of the world. The magnificent pile of ruins, 
which remains after the lapse of so many ages, was the 
palace of Darius. This grand and stately structure was 
surrounded with a triple wall; the first wall was 16 cu- 
bits high, and adorned with many splendid buildings and 
lofty towers; the second wall was built in the same man- 
ner, but was as high again ; the third was drawn like a 



ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. 97 

quadrant, four square, and 60 cubits high, built of the 
hardest marble, and so cemented as almost to defy the 
ravages of time. On the four sides were brazen gates, 
with curtains or palisades of the same metal, 120 cubits 
high, and 410 paces long, for the purpose of giving de- 
fence to the city, and striking beholdei's with terror. 
The walls were 600 paces from north to south, and 396 
from east to west. The numerous columns, porticoes, 
stair-cases, images, &lc. are exceedingly magnificent, 
even in their ruinous state; and induce the belief that 
the Persian empire in all its grandeur, could boast of 
nothing more glorious, nor have left anything to poster- 
ity more astonishing than the description and ruins of 
this once splendid city. The fine plain in which this city 
stood was in the eastern part of Persia; it was 20 
leagues long and 6 broad, and within this compass there 
were more than 1000 villages, adorned with beautiful 
gardens. 

Alexander the Great, taking Persepolis by storm, put 
the unhappy inhabitants to the sword. He likewise 
burnt the other cities and villages of that plain. The de- 
stroying element rolled onward like an overwhelming 
and resistless deluge; and in a little time the dwelling 
place of thousands presented nothing but a heap of smok- 
ing ruins — one vast picture of desolation. It is sup- 
posed that Alexander took 120,000 talents from the city 
of Persepolis, and robbed the inhabitants of the plain 
of all their valuable property. The spoil was so great 
that it required nearly 6,000 camels and mules to c'arry 
it off. 

Shushan. (Neh. i. 1; Esth. i. 5.) An ancient ex- 
tensive, and magnificent city, [called by the Greeks, 
Susa, or the city of lilies,] situated on the river Ulai, 
[now Kerrah.] It was in the province of Elam, in Per- 
sia, now known as Khusistan, and formerly as Susiana. 
Shushan was the capital. It is said to have been built 
by Memnon, before the Trojan war. It was the winter 
residence of the Persian kings from the time of Cyrus, 
being sheltered by a high ridge of mountains from the 
north-east wind; but in the summer it was so intensely 
hot as to be scarcely habitable. Here Daniel had his 
vision of the ram and he-goat. — (Daniel viii.) 



98 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

Media. (Isa, xxi. 2.) This country which probably 
derives its name from Madai, (Gen. x. 2,) anciently oc- 
cupied what is now part of the kingdom of Persia, and 
was bounded north by the Caspian Sea and Armenia, 
south by Persia proper and west by Assyria. It was a 
fertile and well cultivated region, and was divided into 
greater and lesser Media. Ninus, king of Assyria, ad- 
ded this country to his kingdom, and retained it till the 
time of Sennacherib, when it revolted, and his son be- 
came king, B. C. 700. It fell into the hands of Cyrus 
the Great, about boQ B. C. who perfectly united Media 
and Persia, forming the Medo-Persian kingdom. Hence, 
by Esther and Daniel, the laws and chronicles of the 
Medes and Persians are always mentioned together. 
God employed the Medes to punish Babylon, and then 
sent them the cup of his wrath by Cyrus. — (Isa. xiii. 
17, 18; xxi. 2, 3; Jer. xxv. 25.) 

AcHMETHA. (Ezra vi. 2.) The Ecbatana of ancient 
Media, and the place where the records of the kingdom 
were preserved. The place is occupied, as it is sup- 
posed, by the modern city of Hamadan, in Persia. It 
was surrounded by seven walls, and at one period was 
considered the strongest and most beautiful city of the 
east, except Nineveh and Babylon. 

Parthians, (Acts ii. 9,) or the inhabitants of Parthia, 
originally a province of Media, on its eastern side, situ- 
ated between the Persian Gulf and the Tigris. The 
Parthians seem to have resembled the Cossacks of our 
day, and were celebrated for their skill in archery, and 
especially for shooting as they fled, and were a part of 
the Scythian horde who so long disputed with Rome for 
the dominion of the east. Parthia was united to the 
Persian empire, A. D. 226. The Persian language was 
spoken there; and indeed in Scripture and other ancient 
writings, Persia and Parthia are often used as synony- 
mous. 



THE KINGDOM AND CITIES OF SYRIA. 

Syria was formerly a province of Canaan. The in- 
habitants were Canaanites, called by the Greeks, Phoe- 



ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. 99 

nicians and Ethiopians, ft contained 100 flourishing 
cities, towns and villages,. and 12,000,000 souls within 
the kingdom. Every where one might have seen culti- 
vated fields, frequented roads and crowded inhahitants. 
[Josephus and Strabo.] 

Amorttes. They occupied the portion of Syria which 
afterwards constituted the lots of Reuben, Gad, Manas- 
seh, Dan, Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin. As they were 
the most powerful of the devoted tribes, ail the Canaan- 
ites sometimes went under their name, 

Antjoch. a city of this name was long the capital 
of Syria. It was situated on the banks of the Orontes, 
twelve miles from the Mediterranean, built by Seleucus 
Nicanor, B. C. 301. It was ranked the third city of the 
earth, being scarcely inferior to Alexandria. It was 
the royal residence of the kings of Syria. Luke and 
Theophilus were born in this place. Here Paul and 
Barnabas preached, and here the disciples of Christ 
were first called Christians. Chrysostom preached here 
in the fourth century with great success. This church 
was famous for many hundred years. In A. I). 538, 
sixty thousand of its inhabitants perished in an earth- 
quake. In 1188, it was demolished by the Saracens. In 
1822, a tremendous earthquake completely destroyed 
the remains of this once splendid city; and it is now lit- 
tle else than a heap of ruins. Its present name is An- 
takia. There were many other cities called Antioch; 
none of which are mentioned in Scripture, but that in 
Pisidia, which is now called Ak-sher, and sometimes 
Antiochio. — (Acts xiii. 14.) 

Aleppo, a city of Syria, stands on four hills, twenty- 
two leagues east of Scanderoon. This city is about 
three miles in circuit. 

Damascus. (Gen. xv. 2.) The capital of ancient 
Syria, for three centuries the residence of the Syrian 
kings, and the oldest city which now exists. Its modern 
name is El-shams. It is situated on the river Baradi, 
about two hundred miles south of Antioch, and a hun- 
dred and twenty north-east of Jerusalem. The country 
around it, within a circuit of twenty or thirty miles, is 
well watered, and exceedingly fertile. The city itself is 
about two miles in length, and surrounded by a wall. 



100 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

The streets are narrow, but well paved; and it is said 
that one of them, which runs through the breadth of the 
city and suburbs, from two to three miles, is still called 
^'straight." — (Acts ix. 11.) The adjoining country 
is so beautiful in scenery, and so rich in soil, that the 
orientals regard it as a paradise on earth — such is 
its commanding situation. 

Gadara, the capital of Persea, in Coslo-Syria, stood 
about four miles eastward of the Sea of Tiberias. Great 
numbers of swine were kept here, which was directly 
contrary to the Mosaic law. When Christ, in healing 
two possessed persons, suffered the devils to enter their 
herd of swine, and drown them, instead of being hum- 
bled by their punishment, they besought the Savior to 
leave their country. About forty years after, the city 
was burnt by the Romans. 

Helbon. (Ezek. xxvii. 18.) A Syrian city of great 
opulence and antiquity, celebrated for its wines; and 
probably the same with Aleppo, [or, as the Arabs say, 
Alep or Halab,] which is now one of the most "flourish- 
ing cities of Turkey. Its buildings are of hewn stone, 
and its streets paved with the same. It was once deep- 
ly concerned in the India trade, and is still a place of 
commercial intercourse and manufacturing enterprise. 

Iturea. (Luke iii. 1.) A province of Syria, which 
derived its name from Jetur, a son of Ishmael, whose 
posterity inhabited it. It was south of Trachonitis, be- 
yond Jordan, and probably included Auranitis and Bata- 
nea. It was overrun by a party of the Israelites in the 
time of Jotham king of Judah, and a vast quantity of 
spoil taken. — (1 Chr. v. 19, 22.) It is now called 
Djedour. 

Mesopotamia, (Deut. xxiii. 4.) or Syria, between the 
two rivers, elsewhere called Padan-aram, or the plain of 
Syria, was the name of the country lying between the 
Tigris and the Euphrates. It was the first abode of men 
both before and after the flood, and was bounded north 
by Armenia, east by Assyria, south by Arabia, and west 
by Syria, and embraced the modern El-jesira of Turkey. 
Some suppose that the wise men who visited the infant 
Jesus, were from this country. Here were the garden 
of Eden and the tower of Babel. It was the original 



ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. . 101 

residence of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all their chil- 
dren save Benjamin. (Gen. xi. 31.) It was astonishing- 
ly populous, containing, according to Ptolemy, seventy 
important cities. Christianity, in a mutilated form, still 
exists here. The region is still fertile, and is now called 
Diarbekir. 

Phcenice. (Acts xxvii. 12.) A winter harbor on the 
southern shore of Crete. 

Ph(enicia. (Acts xxi. 2.) A province of Syria, and, 
in the largest extent of the term, embracing a strip of 
land adjoining the eastern coast of the Mediterranean, 
eighty miles long and twelve broad. Properly, however, 
it included only the territories of Tyre and Sidon. The 
Phoenicians were descendants of the Canaanites, and a 
Syro-phoenician was a Pha3nician of Syria. Phoenicia was 
also subject to the Greek government in the time of our 
Savior, and hence Tyre and Sidon might be regarded as 
Greek cities. (Comp. Matt. xv. 22; Mark vii. 26.) 
The Jews regarded all the rest of the world as Greeks. 

Phoenicia is considered as the birth-place of commerce, 
if not ot letters. The soil is still fertile, producing a 
rich variety of grains and fruits; but all the enterprise 
and prosperity of the people is blasted by the despotism 
of the government. Carthage was established by a col- 
ony of Phoenicians; and Cadiz, in Spain, is also sup- 
posed to have been settled by the same people about one 
thousand years before Christ. It is thought the Phoeni- 
nicians pushed their trade as far as Britain, and they 
probably had settlements on the Red Sea and Persian 
Gulf. Sir Isaac Newton thinks that vast numbers of 
Edomites fled hither in the days of David, and carried 
their arts along with them. The chief city of this re- 
gion, and sometimes the region itself, is now called Tri- 
poli. 

ToB. (Judg. xi. 3, 5.) A district in the south-east 
of Syria, whither Jephthah fled, and whence he was 
called to lead the army of Israel. 

The great and splendid city of Syria — Palmyra. 
This city was situated about fifteen miles east from 
Damascus, and one hundred and twenty from Tarabolas 
or Tripoli. It was the metropolis of Palmyrene, a fer- 
tile province of Syria. Surrounded on all sides by 



102 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

frightful deserts, this province was noted for its large 
and splendid cities; its gardens, palaces, and numerous 
temples; and the accomplishment of its inhabitants. 
This city was called Palmara by the Greeks, Palmyra by 
the Romans; in Scriptures, Tadmor; and by Josephus, 
Thadamor. Of its origin little is known; but by some 
learned historians, it is supposed to have been founded by 
Solomon. It flourished for many years; and was unfor- 
tunately the cause of frequent and bloody conflicts be- 
tween the Romans and Carthaginians. It was destroyed 
by Antiochus; and re-built and beautifully adorned by 
Aurelian. When, however, that country became sub- 
ject to the Turks, that barbarous, ignorant and bigoted 
people shamefully laid it in ruins. The statements of va- 
rious travellers describe these ruins as very interesting. 
The principal, at present, are temples and porticos of 
Grecian architecture. These ruins cover several square 
miles; and present a melancholy spectacle. The tem- 
ple of the sun, or rather its ruins, which attracts par- 
ticular notice, covers a square of 220 yards. It was 
high and massive, and adorned within and without with 
pilasters, of which 124 are remaining. The Turks, by 
beating down the cornices, have deprived the world of 
the most finished work of the kind. In this square are 
fifty-eight entire pillars, thirty-seven feet high, with cap- 
itals of the finest carving. In the middle of this enclo- 
sure, stood the Temple encompassed by another row of 
pillars fifty feet in height. It was one of the most splen- 
did edifices in the world. 

To the north of the temple, is a stately obelisk fifty 
feet high, of wreathed work; the sculpture is considered 
extremely fine. To the west of this is a spacious en- 
trance to a noble piazza, which is a quarter of a mile in 
length, and forty feet in breadth — formed by two rows 
of marble pillars twenty-six feet high and nine in cir- 
cumference. There were originally five hundred and 
sixty of these pillars: only one hundred and twenty-nine 
are now standing. 

Seleucia. (Acts xiii. 4.) A city of Syria, on the 
shores of the Mediterranean, west of Antioch, and near 
the mouth of the Orontes. 

Zarephath, or Sarepta, where Elijah dwelt some time 



ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. 103 

with a widow, was a seaport of Phoenicia, midway be- 
tween Tyre and Sidon. (1 Kings xvii. 9, 10; Luke iv. 
26.) About A. D. 400, it was still of some note. Its 
present name is Sarfend. 

The great commercial city of Tyrus or Tyre. 
It was situated at the entry of the sea, and founded 
by the celebrated Ethiopian wise men, who built a strong 
city, and heaped up silver as the dust, and fine gold as 
mire of the streets, (Zech. ix. 3,) with her kings and 
princes, merchants and captains, pilots and seamen, 
ships with fine linen broidered work from Egypt for 
their sails. — (Ez. xxvii.) This mighty city, which once 
had the entire control of the trade v/ith India, and into 
whose lap the treasures of the world were poured, is 
about five miles distant from the other Tyre, and was 
the city which Alexander reached by means of a cause- 
way from the main land, and entirely consumed it, in ac- 
cordance with some of the most interesting prophecies, 
Zech. ix. 3, 4; Isa. xxiii. ; Ezek. xxvi., xxviii. ;) and we 
are told by modern travellers that its desolation is com- 
plete. Tyre, v/hich is now called Sur, is only inhabited 
by a few fishermen, who live in the ruins of its primi- 
tive state. 

The Colonies of Tyre. Carthage, a city in Africa, 
was one of the colonies of Tyre. It was founded by the 
Canaanites — ■ Egyptians — blacks. [Herodotus.] 

Utica. This city was built by the Phoenicians in Af- 
rica, a colony from Tyre, about 15 miles from Carthage 
on the Mediterranean. — [Rollin.] 



CITIES OF AFRICA. 

Carthage. The foundation of this celebrated city is 
ascribed to Elissa, a Tyrian princess, better known as 
Dido; it may therefore be fixed at the year of the world 
3158; when Joash was king of Judah; 98 years be- 
fore the building of Rome, and 846 years before 
Christ. The king of Tyre, father of the famous Jeze- 
bel, called in Scripture Ethbaal, was her great-grand- 
father. She married her near relation Acerbas, also 
called Sicharbas, or Sichaeus, an extremely rich prince; 



104 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

Pygmalion king of Tyre was her brother. Pygmalion 
put Sichaeus to death in order that he might have an op- 
portunity to seize his immense treasures; but Dido elu- 
ded her brother's cruel avarice, by secretly conveying 
away her deceased husband's possessions. With a large 
train of followers she left her country, and after wan- 
dering sometime, landed on the coast of the Mediterra- 
nean, in Africa; and located her settlement at the bot- 
tom of the gulf, on a peninsula, near the spot where 
Tunis now stands. Many of the neighboring people al- 
lured by the prospect of gain, repaired thither to sell to 
those foreigners the necessaries of life; and soon be- 
came incorporated with them. The people thus gath- 
ered from different places soon grew very numerous. 
And the citizens of Utica, an African city about fifteen 
miles distant, considering them as their countrymen, as 
descended from the same common stock, advised them 
to build a city where they had settled. The other na- 
tives of the country, from their natural esteem and re- 
spect for strangers, likewise encouraged them to the 
same object. Thus all things conspiring with Dido's 
views, she built her city, which was appointed to pay an 
annual tribute to the Africans for the ground it stood upon, 
and called it Carthage — a name that in the Phoenician 
and Hebrew languages, [which have a great affinity,] 
signifies the "New City." It is said that in digging the • 
foundation, a horse's head was found; which was thought 
to be a good omen, and a presage of the future warlike 
genius of that people. Carthage, had the same language, 
and national character as its parent state — Tyre. It 
became at length, particularly at the period of the Punic 
War, one of the most splendid cities in the world; and 
had under its dominion 300 cities bordering upon the 
Mediterranean. From the small beginning we have de- 
scribed, Carthage increased till her population number- 
ed 700,000; and the number of her temples and other 
public buildings was immense. Her dominion was not 
long confined to Africa. Her ambitious inhabitants ex- 
tended their conquests into Europe, by invading Sar- 
dinia, seizing a great part of Sicily, and subduing almost 
all of Spain. Having sent powerful colonies every 
where, they enjoyed the empire of the seas for more 



ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. 105 

than six hundred years; and formed a State which was 
able to dispute pre-eminence with the greatest empire of 
the world, by their wealth, their commerce, their nu- 
merous armies, their formidable fleets, and above all by 
the courage and ability of their commanders; and she 
extended her commerce over every part of the known 
world. A colony of Phoenicians or Ethiopians, known 
in scripture as Canaanites, settled in Carthage. The 
Carthaginians settled in Spain and Portugal. The first 
inhabitants of Spain were the Celtae, a people of Gaul; 
after them the Phoenicians possessed themselves of the 
most southern parts of the country, and may well be sup- 
posed to have been the first civilizers of this kingdom, 
and the founders of the most ancient cities. After these, 
followed the Grecians; then the Carthaginians. 

Portugal was anciently called Lusitania, and inhab- 
ited by tribes of wandering people, till it became sub- 
ject to the Carthaginians and Phoenicians, who were 
dispossessed by the Romans 250 years before Christ. 
[Rollin.] 

The Carthaginians were masters of all the coast which 
lies on the Mediterranean, and all the country as far 
as the river Iberus. Their dominions, at the time 
when Hannibal the Great set out for Italy, all the coast 
oC" Africa from the Arse Phileanorum, by the great Syr- 
tis, to the pillars of Hercules was subject to the Cartha- 
ginians, who had maintained three great wars against 
the Romans. But the Romans finally prevailed by car- 
rying the vvar into Africa, and the last Punic war termi- 
nated with the overthrow of Carthage. [Nepos in vita 
Annibalis. Liv.] 

The celebrated Cyrene was a very powerful cit^, sit- 
uated on the Mediterranean, towards the greater Syr- 
tis, in Africa, and had been built by Battus, the Lace- 
demonian. [Rollin.] 

Cyrene. (Acts xi. 20.) A province and city of Li- 
bya. There was anciently a Phoenician colony called 
Cyrenaica, or "Libya about Cyrene." — (Acts ii. 10.) 

Cyrene. A country west of Egypt, and the birth- 
place of Callimachus the poet, Eratosthenes the histori- 
an, and Simon, who bore the Savior's cross. Many Jews 
from hence were at the Pentecost, and were converted 
8 



106 LIGHT AND TRUTH. ' 

under Peter's sermon. (Acts ii.) The region is now 
under the Turkish power, and has become almost a des- 
ert. It is now called Cairoan. Some of the Cyrenians 
were among the earliest Christians, (Acts xi. 20.) and 
one of them, it is supposed, was a preacher at Antioch. 
(Acts xiii. 1.)- We find also, that among the most vio- 
lent opposers of Christianity, were the Cyrenians, who 
had a synagogue at Jerusalem, as had those of many 
other nations. It is said there were 480 synagogues in 
Jerusalem. 

Lybia, or Libya, (Acts ii. 10.) was anciently among 
the Greeks a general name for Africa, but properly it 
embraced only so much of Africa as lay west of Egypt, 
on the southern coast of the Mediterranean. Profane 
geographers call it Libya Cyrenaica, because Cyrene 
was its capital. It was the country of the Lubims, (2 
Chron. xii. 3,) or Lehabims of the Old Testament, from 
which it is supposed to have derived its name. 

The ancient city of Cyrene is now called Cyreune, 
Cairoan, or Cayran, and lies in the dominio/U of Tripoli. 
This district of the earth has lately occasioned much 
interest among Italian and French geographers. Great 
numbers of Jews resided here. (Matt, xxvii. 32.) 

Libya, a part of Africa, bordering on Egypt, famous 
for its armed chariots and horses. — (2 Chron. xvi. 8.) 

Ophir, the son of Joktan, gave name to a country in 
Africa, famous for gold, which was renowned even in 
the time of Job, (Job ch. xxii. 24; xxviii. 16,) and from 
the time of David to the time of Jehoshaphat, the He- 
brews traded with it, and Uzziah revived this trade when 
he made himself master of Elath, a noted port on the 
Red Sea. In Solomon's time, the Hebrew fleet took up 
three years in their voyage to Ophir, and brought home 
gold, apes, peacocks, spices, ivoryj ebony, and almug- 
trees. — (1 Kings ix. 28; x. 11; xxii. 48; 2 Chr. ix. 10.) 

Tarshish, (Isa. xxiii. 1,) or Tharshish. (1 Kings x. 
22.) It is supposed that some place of this name exist- 
ed on the eastern coast of Africa, or among the southern 
ports of Asia, with which the ships of Hiram and Solo- 
mon traded in gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and pea- 
cocks. (2 Chron. ix. 21.) It is said that once in every 



ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. 107 

three years these ships completed a voyage, and brought 
home their merchandise. Hence, it is inferred, the 
place with which they traded must have been distant 
from Judea, 

The vessels given by Hiram to Solomon, and those 
built by Jehoshaphat, to go to Tarshish, were all launched 
at Eziongeber, at the northern extremity of the eastern 
gulf of the Red Sea, now called the gulf of Ahaba. (2 
Chron. xx. 36.) The name of Tarshish was from one 
of the sons of Javan. (Gen. x. 4.) 

Phut, (Gen. x. 6,) or Put, (Nah. iii. 9,) was the third 
son of Ham; and his descendants, sometimes called 
Libyans, are supposed to be the Mauritanians, or Moors 
of modern times. They served the Egyptians and 
Tyrians as soldiers. (Jer. xlvi. 9;'Ezek. xxvii. 10; xxx. 
5; xxxviii. 5.) 

PuL. A district in Africa, thought by Bochart to be 
an island in the Nile, not far from Syene. (Isa. Ixvi. 19.) 

Seba. (Isa. xliii. 3.) A peninsular district of Afri- 
can Ethiopia, deriving its name from the eldest son of 
Cush, (Gen. x. 7.) who is supposed to have been the 
progenitor of the Ethiopians. It is called Seba by the 
Hebrews. 



CITIES OF ARABIA. 

Arabia, a large country of Asia, lying partly on the 
east, but chiefly southward of Canaan. Its greatest 
length from east to west is about 1620 miles; and its 
greatest breadth from north to south about 1350. It has 
the Indian Ocean on the south, the Red Sea and Isth- 
mus of Suez on the west, Canaan and Syria on the north- 
west and north, the mountains of Chaldea and the Per- 
sian Gulf on the east. It is ordinarily divided into three 
parts. 

Arabia PETRiEA, or the rocky, on the north-west, and 
which is now called Hejiaz. This division contained the 
land of Cushan, Barnea, Paran, and Midian. The 
Edomites and the Amalekites also dwelt here, and a 
very powerful and independent tribe of Ishmaelites. It 
was a land of shepherds, and the scene of some of the 



108 " LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

most interesting events in the history of man. Horeb 
and Sinai were within its bounds. In the south-western 
part of it now stand the famed cities of Mecca and Me- 
dina, so much visited by Mahometan pilgrims. The peo- 
ple of this part are called "Men of the east." (Gen. 
XXV. 6; Judg. vi. 3.) 

Arabia Deserta, whi^h lay eastward of Canaan, and 
comprehended the land of Uz, of Ammon, Moab, Midi- 
an, with the country of the Itureans, Hagarenes, &c. 
The inhabitants have in all ages dwelt in tents, and led 
a wandering life. It was an exceedingly fruitful land. 
They claim their descent from Shem. This was also the 
country of the Ishmaelites, and is now inhabited by the 
modern Bedouins. 

Arabia Felix, or tfie happy, on the south of the two 
former, between the Persian Gulf and Red Sea. Scarce 
ly any part of Arabia is well watered, but Arabia Felix 
is the most so, and is famed for its opium, myrrh, and 
other drugs, as well as for fine spices and fruits. 

The Arabians are, in general, the descendants of Ish- 
mael. The descendants of Abraham by Keturah, as 
well as those of L'ot and Esau, dwelt also in this land. 

Agar, or Hagar. (Gal. iv. 25.) The history or con- 
dition of Hagar is used allegorically in this passage to 
illustrate the nature of the dispensation from Mount Si- 
nai. Mount Sinai is called Agar by the Arabians. 

DuMAH, a country somewhere near or in Arabia Pe- 
trsea, so called from a son of Ishmael. (Isa. xxi. 11. 

Dedan. (Jer. xxv. 23; xlix. 8; Ezek. xxv. 13.) A 
district of Arabia Petreea, south of Idumea, or Edom, 
settled by the descendants of Dedan, son of Jokshan, 
son of Abraham and Keturah. (Gen. xxv. 3.) 

Ezion-geber, or Gaber. (Num. xxxiii. 35; 1 Kings 
ix. 26.) A city of Arabia, at the head of the eastern or 
Elanitic gulf of the Red Sea, adjoining Elath. It was 
here that Solomon's vessels were built, which were in- 
tended to trade with Ophir and Tarshish. It derives its 
name fEzion-Geber, or the hack hone of a man,] from a 
reef of rocks at the entrance of the harbor resembling 
that part of the human frame. 

Kedar. (Gen. xxv. 13.) A son of Ishmael, whose 
descendants settled in the southern part of Arabia. 



ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. 109 

Probably Kedar's posterity were the most numerous and 
powerful of the family of Ishmael; whence the whole of 
that country is sometimes called Kedar, (Isa. xxi. 16, 
17; Ix. 7; Jer. xlix. 28;) and the Ishmaelites generally 
are called the men of Kedar. They dwelt ordinarily in 
tents, but sometimes in villages, and their glory and 
wealth chiefly consisted in flocks and herds. (Isa. xlii. 
11 ; and xxi. 16, 17.} 

Nebaioth, (Isa. Ix. 7,) or Nebajoth. (Gen. xxv. 13.) 
A son of Ishmael, whose descendants are supposed to 
have settled in Arabia, and to have been the Nabathe- 
ans of Greek and Roman history. They were probably 
rich in flocks and herds; whence the beautiful figure of 
the prophet above cited, respecting the gathering of the 
Gentile nations to the sceptre of the Messiah. 

Paran formed a part of Arabia Petreaa. (Deut. 
xxxiii. 2.) 

Raamah. (Ezek. xxvii. 22.) A country or district of 
Arabia, trading with Tyre in spices, stones and gold; 
and is supposed to have been settled by ttie descendants 
of Raamah, grandson of Ham. (Gen. x. 7.) 

Sinai, the mountain in Arabia, on which Jehovah ap- 
peared to Moses, and gave the law. The Hebrews 
came to this place in the third month of their pilgrimage. 
The law was given, it is thought, just fifty days after 
their exodus from Egypt; and hence the Pentecost was 
observed on the 50th day after the Passover. This 
mount stands in Arabia Petrasa, and is called by the 
Arabs, Jibbil Mousa, or the mountain of Moses, and 
sometimes El Tor, or the Mount. It has two summits, 
Horeb and Sinai; which last is much higher, and is called 
the Mount of God. The ascent is very steep, and is ef- 
fected by steps, which the Empress Helena, the mother 
of Constantino the Great, caused to be cut in the rock. 
These are now so much worn and decayed, as to make 
the ascent tedious and difficult. At the top of Sinai, 
there is an uneven and rugged place, sufficient to hold 
60 persons. Here stands a chapel, and near to it is a 
fountain of fresh water. 

Sheba, or Seba. There were several of this name. 
1. The son of Cush, who gave the name to a country in 
Arabia. 2. The grandson of Cush. 3. ThesonofJok- 



110 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

tan. 4. The grandson of Abraham. All these seem to 
have taken up their residence in Arabia, and perhaps 
most of them in the south part of it. 5. The son of 
Bichri, a Jew who headed a revolt in the reign of David. 
6. The name of a famous well, sometimes called Sheba, 
and sometimes Beer-sheba. (Gen. x., xxv., xxvi.) 

Sheba, (1 Kings x. 1.) or the Saba of profane history. 
A provmce in the northern part of Arabia, between the 
Red Sea and Indian Ocean. It was probably settled by 
Sheba, a descendant of Cush, and the inhabitants are 
called Sabeans. (Job i. 15.) The queen of Sheba may 
well be supposed to have some traditional knowledge of 
true religion; and in the commercial intercourse of her 
country with that of the Hebrews, might have heard 
much of the wisdom and piety of Solomon, the wisest 
man, and one of the greatest kings that ever lived on 
the earth. To see and converse with him, she undertook 
a journey from what was then regarded as the utter- 
most parts of the earth. (Matt. xii. 42.) Of this jour- 
ney the present Ethiopians or Abyssines, who are Chris- 
tians of the Greek Church, have very ancient traditions. 
Among the princely presents she made to Solomon, were 
gold, ivory, and spices; and the Sabeans were cele- 
brated, on account of their important commerce in these 
very products, among the Greeks. (Ps. Ixxii. 10, 15; 
Isa. Ix. 6; Jer. vi. 20.) 

Sela, called by the Jews, Jokteel, is probably the 
place called Kerek in Burckhardt's travels. In Greek 
authors, it is called Petra, and was the celebrated capi- 
tal of Arabia Petraea. (2 Kings xiv. 7.) 

Uz. (Lam. iv. 21.) A district of Arabia, which was 
probably settled by the posterity of Uz, or Huz, a de- 
scendant of Shem, and distinguished as the dwelling- 
place of Job, whose estate was like that of a modern 
Bedouin sheikh. It was probably an extensive district, 
and perhaps subject to Idumea. 



THE CITIES OF EDOM. 

Esau, (Gen. xxv. 25,) br Edom. (Gen. xxxvi. 1.) Son 
of Isaac and Rebecca, and twin brother of Jacob. 



ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. Ill 

The most important events of his life are so intimately 
connected with the life of Jacob, that they will be con- 
sidered under that article. His family settled on mount 
Seir, east of Jordan, which was hence called Edom, 
and his descendants were the Edomites, one of the most 
powerful and formidable nations of that age. 

Edomites. Descendants of Edom, who was called 
Esau, because he was hairy, and his complexion red. 
He was born A. M. 2173, and sold his birthright for a 
mess of red pottage. 

JoKTHEEL. (2 Kings xiv. 7.) The name given by 
Amaziah to Selah, or the modern Petra, It was the cap- 
ital of Idumea, and one of the most magnificent of the 
ancient cities. It was situated near the base of mount 
Hor, about three day's journey from Jericho, and the 
same distance from mount Sinai; and must be regarded 
as the most singular spot in all Arabia, perhaps in the 
whole eastern world. 

The Red Sea is that arm of the Indian Ocean which 
runs along the southwest side of Arabia, and the east of 
Ethiopia and Egypt, to the length of 1200 miles, now 
called the Arabian Gulf. As the Edomites had long the 
property and use of *it for their shipping, it came to be 
called the Sea of Edom, which the Greeks translated 
into the Red Sea — Edom signifying red. Hence, origi- 
nated the mistake, that its water, or its bottom, was red- 
dish. 



THE AMALEKITES. 

Amalek. (Gen. xxxvi. 16.) He was the son of Eli- 
phaz, and grandson of Esau. Some have supposed him 
to be the father of the Amalekites, but they are men- 
tioned as a powerful people, long before the birth of 
Amalek. (Gen. xiv. 7.) The Arabians have a tradi- 
tion that he was the son of Ham. 

Amalekites. (1 Sam. xv. 6.) A powerful people, 
dwelling between the Red and Dead Seas. This nation 
inhabited the southern part of Canaan, and is called 
(Num. xxiv. 20) the first of all the nations. About A. 
M. 2091, Chedorlaomer ravaged their country, at which 



1 12 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

time multitudes left it. It is thought by some, that these 
poured themselves on Egypt, and were the shepherds 
mentioned by Manetho/ 



THE CITIES OF MOAB. 

MoAB. 1. The son of Lot, was born about the same 
time as Isaac, in A. M. 2108. 2. The land called by 
his name, eastward of the Dead Sea, and about the 
river Arnon. The present name of this country is El- 
Rabba. 

Arnon. (Deut. ii. 24.) The principal river east of 
Jordan, and originally the boundary between the Moab- 
ites and the Ammonites; then between the Moabites and 
Amorites; and finally, between the Moabites and the 
tribe of Reuben. It is now called the Modjeb or Mujeb, 
and is about fifty miles long, emptying into the Dead Sea. 
The current in winter is full and rapid, but in summer 
the channel is nearly dry. 

Abel-shittim, a town beyond Jordan, in the plain of 
Moab. Here 24,000 Israelites were destroyed in one 
day for falling into the sins of Moab. (Numb, xxv.) It 
was probably the mourning for this event that gave the 
name >of Abel to the spot. 

Beth-jeshimoth. (Josh. xiii. 20.) A city of the 
tribe of Reuben on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. 
It was formerly in possession of the Moabites, and after 
remaining in the tribe of Reuben until the Assyrian cap- 
tivity, it fell back into the hands of the Moabites. (Ezek. 
xxv. 9.) 

DiBON. (Josh, xiii. 17.) A city of Moab, a few miles 
nortli of the Arnon, now called Diban. It was built by 
the tribe of Gad, and hence called Dibongad. (Num. 
xxxiii. 45.) The same place is called Dimon. (Isa. xv. 
9.) At a later day it returned again to Moab. (Isa. xv. 
2.) In Neh. xi. 25, a Dibon in Judah is mentioned, 
which may be the same with Debir. (Josh, xiii, 26.) 
A place called Diban is mentioned by modern travellers 
as situated about three miles north of the Arnon, or 
Madjeb. 

HoRONAiM, a city of Moab, perhaps the same as Beth- 



ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. lit 

horon. It is thought to be the city , which is called b) 
Ptolemy, Avara, and by Josephus, Orona. 

Jahaz. (Num. xxi. 23.) A city on the northern fron- 
tier of the Moabites, in the vicinity of which, Moses de- 
feated the army of Sihon, on his refusal to permit him to 
pass through it peaceably. (Josh. xiii. 18.) It is called 
by Ptolemy, Ziza. 

LuHiTH, a city of Moab. (Isa. xv. 5.) Its name in 
Josephus and Ptolemy, is Lyssa. 

MizpEH. (1 Sam. xxii. 3.) A town of Moab, where 
David placed his father and mother during his reverses. 

Medeba, a city of Moab. (Numb. xxi. 30; Josh. xiii. 
16.) It was destroyed about the days of Isaiah, and re- 
built some considerable time before the advent of our 
Lord. 

The plains of Moab, (Num. xxii. 1; xxxiii. 48 — 50,) 
were situated east of Jordan and the Dead Sea, on both 
sides of the Arnon. The country belonged principally 
to the Amorites, north of the Arnon, where the Israel- 
ites encamped before the passage of the Jordan. After- 
wards it fell to the lot of Reuben. The inhabitants were 
called Moabites, and the country derived its name from 
Moab. 

NiMRiM. (Isa. XV. 6.) A stream in the north part of 
Moab, near the village of Beth-nimrah, (Num. xxxii. 
36,) the ruins of which now bear the name of Nimrein. 

Kir, a city of Moab. Isa. xv. 1.) The bulwark or 
principal fortress of Moab, called Kirharesheth, (Isa. 
xvi. 7.) Kerek, or Karak, [the modern name of the 
same place,] is found south of the Dead Sea. Many of 
the ruins of the ancient fortress are discernible; and a 
traveller, who was there in 1822, tells us that the popu- 
lation consisted of four hundred Turks, and one hun- 
dred and fifty nominal Christians. 

KiRJATHAiM. (Josh. xiii. 19.) One of the oldest 
towns eastward of Jordan. It was once the possession 
of the Emims, and was then called Shaveh, or the plain 
of Kiriathaim, (Gen. xiv. 5,) and is afterwards spoken 
of as a city of Moab. (Jer. xlviii. 23.) There was a 
town of this name in Naphtali. (1 Chron. vi. 76.) 



114 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

the' GRECIAN CITIES. 

Greece was first colonized by the Phoenicians and 
Egyptians — the descendants of the Ethiopians. It was 
during the 18th dynasty of Egyptian kings, that the 
first colonization of Greece took place. 

The aborigines of Greece, denominated Pelasgi, He- 
antes, &c. were extremely barbarous. They wandered 
in woods, without law or government, having but little 
intercourse with each other. They clothed themselves 
with skins of beasts; retreated for shelter to rocks and 
caverns; and lived on acorns, wild fruits, raw flesh, and 
even devoured the enemies they slew in battle. [Rollin,] 

Argos. The arrival of Inachus in Greece from Phoe- 
nicia, is connected with the foundation of the kingdom 
of Argos. This event took place B. C. 1857. Money 
was first made of gold and silver at Argos, B. C. 891. 

Inachus is called the son of the Ocean, because he 
came to Greece by sea. '"By some he is said to have 
been the last of the Titans, a Phoenician colony who 
gave the Greeks the first notions of religion and civili- 
zation, and introduced the worship of their own gods, 
Saturn, Jupiter, Ceres, &c. &c. 

The Phoenicians, the Canaanites in scripture, were a 
commercial people in the days of Abraham. In the 
time of the Hebrew judges, they had begun to colonize. 
Their first settlements were Cyprus and Rhodes; thence 
they passed over and peopled Greece, Sicily, Sardinia, 
and Spain, and framed likewise establishments on the 
western coast of Africa. 

The city of Athens. (Acts xvii. 15.) The capital of 
Attica in Greece, situated on the Saronic Gulf, forty-six 
miles east of Corinth, three hundred south-west of Con- 
stantinople, and five miles from the coast. 

The foundation of Athens by Anthony, or Cecrops, 
Egyptians, who conducted thither a colony from the Nile, 
is dated B. C. 1556. This event had an important con- 
nection with the subsequent refinement and literary dis- 
tinction of Greece. Cecrops, after fixing down in Atti- 
ca, attempted to civilize the wild and barbarous natives 
of that region. Constructing twelve small villages, 
which were afterwards connected with Athens, he 



ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. 115 

prevailed upon the wandering tribes to fix their resi- 
dences in them. He enacted laws, and introduced the 
deities and religious worship of the Egyptians. This 
was the first step towards that civilization which ren- 
dered Athens the most distinguished city on the earth. 
It was distinguished not only for political importance and 
military power, but for the eloquence, literature, and re- 
finement of its inhabitants. Paul visited it about A. D. 
52, and found the people sunk in idolatry and idleness. 
He preached there, and took occasion to reprove their 
superstitions, for which he was summoned before the 
Areopagus. 

Thebes. The foundation of the kingdom of Thebes, 
was laid by the celebrated Cadmus, a Phoenician. The 
government was monarchical and more despotic than in 
any other of the Grecian States. The introduction of 
letters by Cadmus into Greece about B. C. 1519, was a 
circumstance which contributed most materially to the 
rapid advances which the Greeks made in knowledge 
and civilization. 

Corinth. One of the richest cities of Greece, and 
capital of Achaia. Its commodious haven, and advan- 
tageous location, gave it a vast commerce, and immense 
wealth. During a war with Rome, L. Mummius burnt 
it to the ground, A. M-. 3827. It was afterward re-built 
under the auspices of Julius Caesar. It fell into the 
hands of the Turks, under Mahomet II. Paul preached 
here. (Acts xviii.) It is now called Corinto. 

Byzantium, [now Constantinople,] built by a colony 
of Athenians, 658 B. C. 



THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 

This empire was colonized by the Phoenicians and 
Egyptians. The foundation of Rome by Romulus, 152 
years B. C, was connected with the rise and establish- 
ment of the most powerful empire that has ever existed. 
He was a wise, courageous and politic prince; and was 
but eighteen years old. The city was peopled by run- 
away slaves, and criminals; and at first had neither law, 
nor rulers, and but few women. 



116 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

Romulus was the son of Rhea Sif^ia — a vestal, and 
was, together with his twin brother, preserved in his in- 
fancy, in a remarkable manner. Being, by the death of 
his brother, at the age of eighteen years, left sole com- 
mander of a band of robbers, he began the foundation 
of what has since been called, "The Eternal City." 

It took the name of its founder, and was built upon 
the Palatine Hill. The city was almost square and 
about^ a mile in circumference, containing 1000 houses, or 
more properly huts. Even the palace of Romulus was 
built of reeds and thatched with straw. Having became 
king, he introduced order and discipline, which gradual- 
ly improved under Numa [a Sabine,] and several suc- 
ceeding sovereigns. The circumstances in which this 
people were placed, naturally gave rise to continual ani- 
mosities, which were commonly settled by battles, in 
which they were generally victorious. Romulus di- 
vided the people into three tribes; and each tribe into 
ten companies of a hundred men each, headed by a cen- 
turion. He divided the land into three parts; one for 
the support of government; another for the maintenance 
of religion — and the third portion was divided among 
the citizens — two acres each. The Romans sent to 
Athens for Solon's laws, 454 B. C. The first library 
was erected at Rome, of books brought from Macedonia, 
168 B. C. [Rollin] 

Galatia, a province of Asia Minor,. About 175 B. C. 
it was reduced to a Roman province. The gospel was 
planted here by Paul, who wrote an epistle to these 
churches. (Acts xvi.) Dejotarus, for whom Cicero in- 
terceded, in an oration still extant, was king of this 
country. About A. D. 266, it was overrun by the Goths; 
and afterward became a province of Turkey. It is now 
called Natolia. 

Appii-forum, a place in the south-west of Italy, about 
fifty miles from Rome, where Paul was met by his Chris- 
tian friends. (Acts xxviii. 15.) It is now called Fossa 
Nuova. 

PuTEOLi, a city of Campania, in Italy; so called from 
its hot waters, or the multitude of its wells. Its ancient 
name was Delus Minor. It stood about eight miles from 
Naples, and was much frequented on account of its min- 



ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. 117 

eral waters. From hence a considerable trade was car- 
ried on with Alexandria, in Egypt. Paul halted here 
seven days, as he went prisoner to Rome. (Acts xxviii. 
13.) We find several of its bishops in the primitive 
councils of the Christian church. The present name of 
the place is Buzzoli. 

Syracuse, a famous city, called also Saragossa, on 
the south-east of Sicily, 22 miles in circumference. It 
was founded A. M. 3269, and was once the largest and 
richest city of the Greeks. Archimedes, with astonish- 
ing inventions, defended the place from the Romans; 
but it was taken, and he was slain, about 208 B. C 
This city v»^as taken from the Romans by the Saracens 
in 1090. Here Paul tarried three days, as he went 
prisoner to Rome. Christianity was early planted here, 
and still continues, at least in name. The city has whol- 
ly lost its ancient splendor. (Acts xxviii. 12.) 



THE KINGDOM OF MACEDONIA. 

The founding of Macedonia, by Caranus, we date 
795 years B. C. Caranus was an Argive by birth, a 
descendant of Hercules, an African. He established 
the regal government, which in spite of the dangers that 
proved fatal to it in most of the Grecian States, subsist- 
ed in Macedonia 647 years. The reign of the warlike 
Philip, first brought Macedonia into notice. In the bat- 
tle at Cheronea, which was fought 338 years B. C, he 
subjected the other Grecian communities to his dominion. 

The partition of the Macedonian Empire into four 
great monarchies, took place about twelve years after 
the death of Philip's warlike son — Alexander the Great, 
who had conquered most of the world known to the an- 
cients — or 312 years B. C. Ptolemy, Lysimachus, 
Cassander, and Seleucus, four generals of Alexander 
— made this division among themselves. To Ptolemy 
were assigned Egypt, Lybia, Arabia, and Palestine; to 
Cassander, Macedonia and Greece; to Lysimachus, 
Bythinia and Thrace ; and to Seleucus the remaining 
territories in Syria as far the river Indus, which was 
called the kingdom of Syria. 



113 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

Amphipolis, a city of Macedonia. (Actsxvii. 1.) It 
is almost surrounded by the river Strymon, whence its 
name, which means "a city surrounded." It is now 
called Emboli. 

Apollonia. (Acts xvii. 1.) A city of Macedonia, 
situated at the head of the ^gean Sea, on a promon- 
tory between Thessalonica and Philippi. 

Berea, (Acts xvii. 10,) now Veria. A city of Mace- 
donia, about twenty miles west of Thessalonica, near 
Mount Pindus. The Bereans were honorably distin- 
guished for their diligence in searching the Scriptures, 
under the preaching of Paul. For this and other causes, 
it was a place of much interest in the days of the Apos- 
tles. (Acts xvii. 10, 15, and xx. 4.) It now contains 
about 20,000 inhabitants, [chiefly Turks and Greeks,] 
and produces rice, fruit, and marble, and has manufac- 
tures of cotton. 

NicopoLis, (Tit. iii. 12,) the place where Paul deter- 
mined to winter, is now called Nicopi, or Nicopoli, a 
town upon the river Nessus, [now Karasa,] which divi- 
ded Thrace from Macedonia. Another town of the 
same name was in Epirus, opposite Actium, to which 
some have thought the apostle refers in the above pas- 
sage. 

Philippi. (Acts xvi. 12.) A city of Macedonia, for- 
merly called Dathos; but being re-built and greatly 
magnified by Philip, father of Alexander the Great, it 
took from him the name Philippi. It is at the head of 
the j3Egean Sea, nine or ten miles north-west of Ne- 
apolis. It stood about 70 miles north-east of Thessa- 
lonica. It was rendered famous by the defeat of Brutus 
and Cassias in its neighborhood. Here Paul preached 
about A. D. 52. Its modern name is Diliba. It is a 
place of great celebrity in profane history, and is called 
the chief or first city of that part of Macedonia. 

Thessalonica, the capital of Macedonia. It was an- 
ciently called Halis, and Thermae; but Philip, the father 
of Alexander the Great, called it Thessalonica, to com- 
memorate his victory over the Thessalians. About A. 
D. 52, Paul, Silas and Timothy planted a church here. 
It was at this time a city of great commerce and wealth, 
and abounded with Jews. The Saracens took it about 



ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. 119 

A. D. 800; and after various other revolutions, it fell 
under the power of Turkey. It is at this time one of 
the chief ports of modern Greece, containing before the 
late revolution 60,000 inhabitants, of which 12,000 were 
Jews. Its present name is Saloniki. 



THE ISLANDS OF THE MEDITERRANEAN. 

Crete, (Acts xxvii. 7,) now called Candia, Kirid, or 
Kriti, is an island of the Mediterranean, one hundred 
and seventy miles long and fifty broad; population 
250,000, about equal numbers of Greeks and Turks. 
Constantinople lies five or six hundred miles north-east 
of it, and Syria six or seven hundred miles east. It was 
formerly a rich and powerful kingdom, and is still re- 
markable for its delightful climate and fertile soil. Oil, 
corn, fruit trees, and vines are among its principal pro- 
ductions. The city of Candia, which is also the fort 
and capital of the island, lies on the northern coast. A 
Christian mission is already established there. Crete 
was settled, as it is generally supposed, by Philistines 
from Egypt, part of whom afterwards passed over to 
Palestine, and are called Caphtorim. 

Probably Paul visited this island after his imprison- 
ment at Rome, and established a Christian church there, 
which he left under the oversight of Titus. (Tit. i. 5.) 

The Cretans were once noted for vicious habits. This 
character was given them by many profane historians. 

Cyprus. (Acts iv. 36.) A large, fertile, and salu- 
brious island of the Mediterranean. It is of a triangu- 
lar form, two hundred miles long, and sixty in its great- 
est breadth. Population 120,000, of whom 40,000 are 
Greeks. Some suppose it to be the same with Chittim. 
The chief productions of Cyprus are, as formerly, wines, 
oil, honey and wool. It is a famous place in mythologi- 
cal history, and was distinguished for the licentiousness 
of its inhabitants. Barnabas was born, and, according 
to tradition, suffered martyrdom in Cyprus. 

Sal AMIS, (Acts xiii. 5,) was the principal city and 
seaport of the island of Cyprus, and received the gos- 
pel from Paul and Barnabas, A. D. 44. The ruins of 



120 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

Salamis were visited in 1835 by two American mission- 
aries. Very little of the ancient town is standing; but 
on the outside of the city they found the remains of a 
building, two hundred feet in length, and six or eight 
high; also a stone church, and portions of an aqueduct, 
by which water was brought to the city from a distance 
of thirty miles. 

Paphos. (Acts xiii. 6.) A celebrated maritime city, 
lying at the western extremity of the island of Cyprus, 
now called Baffa. It was the place where Barjesus, or 
Elymas the sorcerer, was struck with blindness; and 
where Sergius Paulus was converted to Christianity. In 
Paphos, and its vicinity, 25,000 Greeks were massacred 
in the late revolution; and it is said that, upon the whole 
island, not less than seventy-four villages, containing 
18,000 Christians, were destroyed by the Turks. Sev- 
eral interesting incidents of apostolic history occurred 
on this island. 

Melita. (Acts xxviii. 1.) This island was settled 
by a Phoenician colony, about B. C. 1500. It was a 
place of refuge to the ancient Tyrians in their voyages 
to Carthage and Spain. 

Malta. An island twelve miles in breadth and twen- 
ty in length, lying between Sicily and Africa, about two 
hundred miles east of Tunis, and in that part of the 
Mediterranean, which, in the apostle's day, was often 
called Adria, including the Ionian and Sicilian seas, ac- 
cording to the testimony of Ptolemy and Strabo. Here 
Paul and his company were shipwrecked on the passage 
to Rome, and very kindly treated by the inhabitants, es- 
pecially by Publius the governor. 

MiTYLENE. (Acts XX. 14.) The capital of the an- 
cient island of Lesbos. The whole island is now under 
ihe Turkish power, and is called Mittilene, and the chief 
town is called Castra, near which the ruins of the an- 
cient city are discernible. The island lies on the west- 
ern coast of Asia Minor, nearly opposite Pergamos, and 
is about one hundred and seventy miles in circumfer- 
ence. The population is at present 25,000. The chief 
productjions are wine and figs. Paul passed through 
this island on his way from Corinth to Jerusalem. It 
was a large and beautiful city, and was famous as the 



ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. iSll 

birth-place of many wise and learned men, as Alcseus, 
the poet, Sappho, the poetess, Theophanes, the histori- 
an, Pittacus, the philosopher, and Diophanes, the orator. 
On the same island were born, Theophrastus, the sage, 
and Potamon, the rhetorician. It is now called Castro, 
and sometimes Metilin. (Acts xx. 14.) 

Patmos. (Rev. i. 9.) An island in the ^gean Sea, 
now called Patimo or Patmosa, situated near the prom- 
ontory of Miletus, between Samos and Naxos, about 
twenty or twenty-five miles in circumference. It was 
used by the Romans as a place of exile for convicts, and 
is distinguished as the place to which John the Evange- 
list was banished by Domitian, A. D. 94. Its soil is 
very thin and sterile, lying on a rugged rock, probably 
of volcanic origin. About r mile back from the beach 
is a chapel, enclosing the cave which, it is said, John 
occupied when writing the book of Revelation during 
his banishment. 

Rhodes. (Acts xxi. 1.) An island of the Mediterra- 
nean Sea, north-east of Crete, off the south-west point 
of Asia Minor, and ranked for dignity and size next to 
Cyprus and Lesbos, containing a city of the same 
name. It is forty miles long, and fifteen broad, having 
a population of eighteen thousand, anciently celebra- 
ted for its schools, and for the flourishing state of the 
arts and sciences, as well as for a colossal statue one 
hundred and five feet in height, standing astride of the 
harbor's mouth, so that vessels could pass under it. It 
stood fifty-six years, and was then overthrown by an 
earthquake, and the brass of it loaded nine hundred 
camels, and weighed seven hundred and twenty thou- 
sand pounds. In the fifteenth century it was the resi- 
dence of the knights of St. John of Jerusalem. At this 
island, Paul touched, on his way from Miletus to Jerusa- 
lem. It is supposed by some that the name Rhodes is 
derived from the multitude of roses produced on the 
island. The most ancient cities were Lindus, Camirus, 
and Jalysus. 

9 



122 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

AFRICAN ISLANDS. 

At the mouth of the Red Sea lies the island of Zocotra, 
belonging to the Arabs. It is a populous and plentiful 
country, and particularly noted for aloes. 

Madagascar is separated from the continent by a chan- 
nel, called the Channel of Mozambique. This island is 
800 miles long, 150 broad, divided into 28 provinces, and 
watered by some considerable rivers. Its population is 
estimated at 4,000,000, blacks. 

The Cape Verd islands, so called, are opposite to the 
most projecting part of Africa. There are ten principal 
ones, lying almost in a half circle. 

The Canary islands, are still further north, almost 
opposite to Morocco, but more southerly; famous for 
Canary vi'ine. The ancients called them the Fortunate 
Isles. They are ten or twelve iji number; the chief are 
Great Canary, TenerifFe, Gomera and Ferro. TenerifFe 
is much encumbered with mountains. The Peak is an 
ascent in the form of a sugar loaf, 15 miles in circumfer- 
ence, and 13,265 feet high. It is a volcano. 

The Madeiras are three islands, in about 28 degrees 
north latitude, 100 miles north of the Canaries. The 
largest, is 180 miles in circumference. The Madeiras 
are opposite to Morocco: very fruitful, the climate is fine, 
and there are few reptiles. These islands are famous 
for an exquisite wine of the same name. 

The Azores, or Western Isles, lie about midway 
between the two continents, in about 37 degrees north 
latitude, nine hundred miles from land. They were dis- 
covered by a ship that was driven in that direction by 
stress of weather. They are nine in number, fertile in 
corn, wine, and a variety of fruits. The climate is re- 
markably salubrious. It is said that no poisonous or 
noxious animal can live on the Azores. 

Otaheite. The Society Isles, are a cluster lying 
near the 16th degree south latitude, the principal of which 
is Otaheite. The vegetable productions of these islands 
are numerous and luxuriant. The inhabitants of Ota- 
heite alone are estimated at 204,000. The people ex- 
ceed the middle size of Europeans in stature. In their 
dispositions, they are brave, open, and generous, without 



ANCIENT CITIES AND KINGDOMS. 123 

either suspicion or treachery. Except a few traces of 
natural cunning, and some traces of dissimulation, equal- 
ly artless and inoffensive, they posess the most perfect 
simplicity of character. Otaheite alone, it is supposed, 
can send out 1720 war canoes, and 68,000 able men. 
The chief of each district superintends the equipping of 
the fleet in that district; but they must pass in review be- 
fore the king, so that he may know the state of the whole 
before they assemble to go on service. They are re- 
markable for their cleanliness; for both men, women and 
children constantly wash their whole bodies in running 
water, three times every day. Their language is soft 
and melodious and abounds with vowels. 

The inhabitants of Otaheite believe in one Supreme 
Deity, but at the same time acknowledge a variety of 
subordinate deities; they offer up their prayers without 
the use of idols, and believe the existence of the soul in 
a separate state, where there are two situations, of dif- 
ferent degrees of happiness. The inhabitants of all these 
islands are blacks, generally above the middle size, with 
fine open countenances and good shape. The climate is 
similar to that of the West Indies. 

Africa once contained several kingdoms and states, 
eminent for the liberal arts, for wealth and power, and 
the most extensive commerce. The kingdoms of Egypt 
and Ethiopia, in particular were much celebrated; and 
the rich and powerful state of Carthage, that once form- 
idable rival to Rome itself, extended her commerce to 
every part of the then known world. 



Greece, Europe and North and South America, 
WERE Settled by the Descendants op Egypt. We 
learn from the ancient history of Europe that the first 
people known to have lived there were the Grecians, who 
occupied a small space of country on the Mediterranean. 
It is supposed to have been near 2500 years from the cre- 
ation of the world, and about 3396 years to this period, that 
Greece was first settled by a colony from Egypt, led out 
by the celebrated Anthony, or Cecrops Egyptians, who 
conducted thither an Egyptian colony from the Nile, 
1556 years B. C. 



124 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 



CHAPTER III, 



ANTIQUITY OF AMERICA. 



America, was first settled by the Israelites — Indians 
who came out from Egypt. [The View of the Hebrews, 
by Ethan Smith.] America was discovered by Columbus 
in 1492, and was peopled by Colonies in A. D., 1620^ 
from Europe. The first settlement in New England was 
made at Plymouth, in the midst of a fertile country. — The 
Egyptians were an Ethiopian people. [Herodotus.] 

The following authors are supposed to have referred to 
America in their writings: — 

M. de Chazelles, when he measured the great pyramid 
in Egypt, found that the four sides of it were turned [built] 
exactly to the four quarters of the world, Europe, Asia, 
Africa and America, above three thousand years ago. 
During so long a space of time, there has been no altera- 
tion in the poles of the earth or the meridians, to have 
turned the pyramid. 

The celebrated Theopompus, a learned historian and 
orator, flourished in the time of Alexander the Great, the 
Egyptian hero. In a book entitled " Thaumasia," a sort 
of dialogue is given between Midas the Phrygian, and 
Silenus. The book itself is lost, but Strabo refers to it, 
and iElianus has given us the substance of the dialogue 
which follows. After much conversation, Silenus said to 
Midas that Europe, Asia and Africa were but islands, sur- 
rounded on all sides by the sea; but that there was a con- 
tinent situated beyond these, which was of immense di- 
mensions, even without limits j it was inhabited by men 



ANTIQUITY OF AMERICA. 125 

and animals. The land was good, and there were mines 
of gold, silver, &c. yEIianus referred to a country west of 
Europe and Africa, [^lian variar. Historiar., or Elian's 
work, in English.] JElian or ^lianus lived about A. D. 
200—230. 

Hanno, an African, fk)urished when the Carthaginins 
were in their greatest prosperity, but the exact time is 
unknown. Some place his times 40 and others 140 years 
before the founding of Rome, which would be about 800 
years before our era. [Encyclopaedia Perthensis.] He 
was an officer of great enterprise; having sailed around and 
explored the coast of Africa, he set out from the Pillars of 
Hercules, now called the straits of Gibraltar, and sailed 
westward thirty days. Hence it is inferred by many that 
he must have visited America, or some of its islands. He 
wrote a book, which he entitled Periplus, giving an account 
of his voyages, which was translated and published about 
1533, in Greek. [The best account of Hanno and his 
voyages, with which we are acquainted, is to be found in 
Marianna's History of Spain.] 

Many, and not without tolerably good reasons, believe 
that an island or continent existed in the Atlantic Ocean 
about this period, but which disappeared afterwards. 

DioDORus SicuLus says that some " Phoenicians were 
cast upon a most fertile island opposite to Africa." Of 
this, he says, they kept the most studied secrecy, which 
was doubtless occasioned by their jealousy of the advantage 
the discovery might be to the neighboring nations, and 
which they wished to secure wholly to themselves. Diodo- 
rus Siculus lived about 100 years before Christ. Islands 
lying west of Europe and Africa are certainly mentioned 
by Homer and Horace. They were called Atlantides, and 
■Were supposed to be about 1000 furlongs from Africa. 

Plato, an Ethiopian and an eminent Greek historian. His 
account has more weight, perhaps, than any of the ancients. 
He lived about 400 years before the Christian era. A part 
of his account is as follows : " In those first times [time of its 
being first known] the Atlantic was a most broad island, 
and there were extant most powerful kings in it, who^ with 
joint forces, appointed to occupy Asia and Euiope, and so 
a most grievous war was carried on, in which the Atheni- 
ans with the common^ consent of the Greeks, opposed 



126 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

themselves, and they became the conquerors. But that 
Atlantic island, by a flood and earthquake, was indeed 
suddenly destroyed, and so that warlike people were swal- 
lowed up." He adds, in another place, " An island in the 
mouth of the sea, in the passage to those straits, called 
the Pillars of Hercules, did exist ; and that island was 
greater and larger than Lybia and Asia; from which there 
was an easy passage over to other islands, and from those 
islands to that continent, which is situated out of that 
region," [America known to the Ancients, Vol. x. 8vo., 
Boston, 1773.] 

" Neptune settled in this island, from whose son, Atlas, 
its name was derived, and divided it amonor his ten sons. 
To the youngest fell the extremity of the island, called 
Gadir, which, in the language of the country signifies fer- 
tile or abounding in sheep. The descendants of Neptune 
reigned here, from father to son, for a great number of 
generations in the order of primogeniture, during the 
space of 9,000 years. They also possessed several other 
islands; and, passing into Europe and Africa, subdued all 
Lybia as far as Egypt, and all Europe to Asia Minor. At 
length the island sunk under water ; and for a long time 
afterwards the sea thereabouts was full of rocks and 
shelves." [Encyclopaedia Perthensis, Art, Atlantis.] This 
account, although mixed with fable, cannot, we think, be 
entirely rejected; and that the ancients had knowledge of 
countries westward of Europe, appears as plain and as well 
authenticated as any passage of history of that period. 

Aristotle, or the author of a book which is generally 
attributed to him, [De mirabil. auscultat. Opera, vol. i. 
Voltaire says of this book, " On en fesait honneur aux 
Carthaginois, et on citait un livre d'Aristote qu'il n'a pas 
compose." Essai sur les Moeurs et I'esprit des nations, 
chap. cxlv. p. 703, vol. iv, of his works. Edit. Paris, 1817, 
in 8 vo.] speaks of an island beyond the Straits of Gibral- 
tar ; but the passage savors something of hearsay, and is 
as follows: " Some say that, beyond the Pillars of Her- 
cules, the Carthaginians have found a very fertile island ; 
but without inhabitants, full of forests, navigable rivers and 
fruit in abundance. It is several day's voyage from the 
main land. Some Carthaginians, charmed by the fertility 
of the country, thought to marry and settle there ; but 



ANTiaUITY OF AMERICA. 127 

some say that the government of Carthage forbid the set- 
tlement upon pain of death, from the fear that it would in- 
crease in power so as to deprive the mother country of her 
possessions there." If Aristotle had uttered this as a pre- 
diction, that such a thing would take place in regard to 
some future nation, no one, perhaps, would have called 
him a false prophet, for the American revolution would 
have been its fulfilment. This philosopher lived about 
384 years B. C. 

Seneca lived about the commencement of the vulgar 
era. He wrote tragedies, and in one of them occurs this 
passage : — 



"Venient annis 



Sseeculia seris, quibus oceanus 
Vincula rerum laxet, et ingens 
Pateat tellus, Typhisque novos 
Detegat orbes ; nee sit terris 
[UtimaThule. '* 

This is nearer prophecy, and may be rendered, in Eng- 
lish, thus : " The time will come when the ocean will 
loosen the chains of nature, and we shall behold a vast 
country. A new Typhis shall discover new worlds ; Thule 
shall no longer be considered the last country of the known 
world." 

St. Gregory, who flourished in the 7th century, in an 
epistle to St. Clement, an African bishop, said that, be- 
yond the ocean there was another world. 



* Medea. Act. 3— v, 375. 



128 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 



CHAPTER IV. 



ANCIENT KINGS AND WARS. 



ABRAHAM THE PRINCE, A CONQUEROR OF KINGS. 

In the days of Amraphet, of Shinar, or Chaldea; Ari- 
och king of Ellasar or Assyria; Chedorlaomer king of 
Elam or Persia; and Tidal king of Nations, made war 
with Bera, king of Sodom; and with Bimsha, king of 
Gomorrah; Shinab, king of Admah; and Shemeber 
king of Zeboim; and the king of Bela, or Zoar, in 
that country now called Africa, and Asia. All these 
were joined together in the valley of Siddim which 
is the Salt Sea. Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer 
the king of Persia, and in the thirteenth year they re- 
belled; and in the fourteenth year, came Chedor- 
laomer and the kings that were with him, and smote 
the Rephaims in Ashterothkarnaim, and the Zuzims 
in Ham, and the Emims in Shaveh-kiriathaim, and the 
Horites in their Mount Seir unto El-paran, which is by 
the wilderness. And they returned and came to Enmish- 
phat which is Kadesh, and smote all the country of the 
Amalekites, and also the Amorites that dwelt in Hazezon- 
tamar; and there went out the king of Sodom, and the 
king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king 
of Zeboim, and the king of Zoar; and they joined bat- 
tle in the valley of Siddim, with Chedorlaomer the king of 
Persia, and with Tidal king of Nations, and Amraphet 
king of Chaldea, and Arioch king of Assyria. The 
kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled and fell there, and 
they that remained fled to the mountain, and took all the 
goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, 
and went their way; and they took Lot, Abraham's 
brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and 



ANCIENT KINGS AND WARS. 129 

carried them away. And there came one that had es- 
caped, and told Abram the Hebrew, for he dwelt in the 
plain of Mamre, the Amorite, [an Ethiopian] brother of 
Eshcol, and brother of Aner, and these were confeder- 
ate with Abram. And when Abram heard that Lot was 
taken captive, he armed his trained servants who were in 
his own honse, three hundred and eighteen men, and pur- 
sued them unto Dan. And he divided his men against 
them by night, he and his servants smote them and pur- 
sued them unto Habah, which is on the left hand of Da- 
mascus, and brought back all the goods again, also his 
brother Lot, his goods and women and the people. And 
the king of Sodom went out to meet him, [after his re- 
turn from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the 
kings that were with him,] at the valley of Sheveh, which 
is the king's dale. And Melchizedek, king of Salem, 
the priest of the Most High God, brought forth bread 
and wine: and he blessed him, and said, Blessed be 
Abram of the Most High God, which hath delivered 
thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him 
tithes of all. And the king of Sodom said to Abram, 
Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself. And 
Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lifted up mine 
hand to the Lord, the Most High God, the possessor of 
heaven and earth, that I will not take from a thread even 
to a shoe-latchet; and that I will not take any thing that 
is thine, lest thou shouldst say, I have made Abram rich: 
save only that which the young men have eaten, and the 
portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol 
and Mamre, let them take their portion. (Gen. xiv, xii, 
xxiv.; Heb vii.) 



THE ETHIOPIAN KINGS OF EGYPT. 

1. Menes was the first king of Egypt. We have ac- 
counts of but one of his successors — Timans, during 
the first period, a space of more than two centuries. 

2. Shishak was king of Ethiopia, and doubtless of 
Egypt. After his death 

3. Zerah the son of Judah became king of Ethiopia, 
and made himself master of Egypt and Libya; and in- 



130 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

tendinij to add Judea to his dominions, made war upon 
Asa. king of Judea. His army consisted of a million of 
men, and three hundred chariots of war. (2 Chr. xiv. 9.) 

4. Sabachus, an Ethiopian, king of Ethiopia, being 
encouraged by an oracle, entered Egypt with a numer- 
ous army, and possessed himself of the country. He 
reigned with great clemency and justice. It is believed, 
that this Sabachus was the same with Solomon, whose 
aid was implored by Hosea king of Israel, against Sal- 
manaser king of Assyria. 

5. Sethon reigned fourteen years. He is the same 
with Sabachus, or Savechus the son of Sabacan or Sual 
the Ethiopian who reigned so long over Egypt. 

6. Tharaca, an Ethiopian, joined Sethon, with an 
Ethiopian army to relieve Jerusalem. After the death 
of Sethon, who had filled the Egyptian throne fourteen 
years, Tharaca ascended the throne and reigned eight 
years over Egypt. 

7. Sesach or Shishak was the king of Egypt to whom 
Jeroboam fled to avoid death at the hands of king Solo- 
mon. Jeroboam was entertained till the death of Solo- 
mon, when he returned to Judea and was made king of 
Israel. (2 Chr. xi. and xii.) 

This Sesach, in the fifth year of the reign of Reho- 
boam marched against Jerusalem, because the Jews had 
transgressed against the Lord. He came with twelve 
hundred chariots of war, and sixty thousand horse. He 
had brought numberless multitudes of people, who were 
all Libyans, Troglodytes, and Ethiopians. He seized 
upon all the strongest cities of Judah, and advanced as 
far as Jerusalem. Then the king, and the princes of 
Israel, having humbled themselves and asked the pro- 
tection of the God of Israel; he told them, by his proph- 
et Shemaiah, that he would not, because they humbled 
themselves, destroy them all as they had deserved; but 
that they should be the servants of Sesach: in order 
that they might know the difference of his service, and 
the service of the kingdoms of the country. Sesach re- 
tired from Jerusalem, after having plundered the trea- 
siires of the house of the Lord, and of the king's house; 
he carried off every thing with him, and even also the 
300 shields of gold which Solomon had made. [RoUin.] 



ANCIENT KINGS AND WARS. 131 

The following are the kings of Egypt mentioned in 
scripture by the common appellation of Pharaoh: — 

8. Psammetichiis Pharaoh, king of Egypt, owed his 
preservation to the lonians and Carians. He permitted 
them to settle in Egypt, whence all foreigners had hith- 
erto been excluded. By assigning them sufficient lands, 
and fixed revenues, he made them forget their native 
land; and by his order the Egyptian children were 
placed under their care to learn the Greek language. 
Psammetichus engaged in war against the king of As- 
syria, on account of the limits of the two empires. This 
war was of long continuance. Ever since Syria had been 

•conquered by the Assyrians, Palestine, behig the only 
country that separated the two kingdoms, was the sub- 
ject of continual discord; as afterwards between the 
Ptolemies and the Seleucidse. They were eternally con- 
tending for it, and it was alternately won by the stronger. 
Psammetichus, seeing himself the peaceable possessor 
of all Egypt, and having, restored the ancient form of 
government, [this revolution happened about seven years 
after the captivity of Manasseh king of Judah,] thought 
it high time for him to look to his frontiers; and to secure 
them against the Assyrian, his neighbor, whose power 
increased daily. For this purpose he entered Palestine 
at the head of an army. 

Perhaps we are to refer to the beginning of this war, 
an incident related by Diodorus: That the Egyptians, 
provoked to see the Greeks posted on the right wing by 
the king himself in preference to them, quitted the ser- 
vice, they being upwards of two hundred thousand men, 
and retired into Ethiopia, where they met with an ad- 
vantageous settlement. 

Psammetichus died in the 24th year of the reign of 
Josiah king of Judah; and was succeeded by his son 
Nechao or Necho — in Scriptures frequently called Pha- 
raoh Necho. 

9. Nechao or Pharaoh Necho reigned sixteen years 
king of Egypt, (2 Chron. xxxv. 20,) whose expeditions 
are otten mentioned in profane history. 

The Babylonians and Medes having destroyed Nine- 
veh, and with it the empire of the Assyrians, did there- 



133 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

by become so formidable that they drew upon themselves 
the jealousy of all their neighbors. Nechao, alarmed at 
the danger, advanced to the Euphrates, at the head of 
a powerful army, in order to check their progress. Jo- 
siah, king of Judah, so famous for his uncommon piety, 
observing that he took his route through Judea, resolved to 
oppose his passage. With this view, he raised all the 
forces of his kingdom, and posted himself in the valley 
of Megiddo, a city on this side of Jordan, belonging to 
the tribe of Manasseh, and called Magdolus by Hero- 
dotus. Nechao informed him by a herald, that his en- 
terprize was not designed against him; that he had other 
enemies in view, and that he undertook this war, in 
the name of God, who was with him; that for this rea- 
son he advised Josiah not to concern himself with this 
war, for fear it should turn to his disadvantage. How- 
ever, Josiah was not moved by these reasons: he 
was sensible that the bare march of so powerful an 
army through Judea, would entirely ruin it. And be- 
sides, he feared that the victor, after the defeat of 
the Babylonians, would fall upon him, and dispossess 
him of part of his dominions. He therefore marched to 
engage Nechao; and was not only overthrow^ by him, 
but unfortunately received a wound, of which he died 
at Jerusalem, whither he had ordered himself to be car- 
ried. 

Nechao, animated by this victory, continued his march, 
and advanced towards the Euphrates. He defeated the 
Babylonians; took Carchemish, alarge city in that coun- 
try; and securing to himself the possession of it, by a 
strong garrison, returned to his own kingdom, after hav- 
ing been absent three months from it. 

Being informed in his march homeward, that Jehoahaz 
had caused himself to be proclaimed king at Jerusalem, 
without first asking his consent, he commanded him to 
meet him at Riblah in Syria. The unhappy prince had 
no sooner arrived there, but he was put in chains by 
Nechao's order, and sent prisoner to Egypt, where he 
died. From thence, pursuing his march, he came to 
Jerusalem, where he gave the sceptre toEliakim [called 
by him Jehoiakim] another of Josiah's sons, in the room 
of his brother; and imposed an annual tribute on the 



A-NCIENT KINGS AND WARS. 133 

land, ofean hundred talents of silver, and one talent of 
gold. This being done, he returned in triumph to Egypt. 
Herodotus, mentioning this king's expedition, and the 
victory gained by him at Magdolus, [as he calls it] says, 
that he afterwards took the city Cadytis, which he rep- 
resents as situated in the mountains of Palestine, and 
equal in extent to Sardis, the capital at that time not 
only of Lidya, but of all Asia Minor: this description 
can suit only Jerusalem, which was situated in the man- 
ner above described, and was then the only city in those 
parts that could be compared to Sardis. It appears be- 
sides from scripture, that Nechao, after his victory, won 
this capital of Judea; for he was there in person, when 
he gave the crown to Jehoiakim. 

10. «Psamrais Pharaoh reigned over Egypt, and left 
his kingdom to his son Apries. He gave his daughter 
in marriage to Solomon, king of Israel; who received 
her in that part of Jerusalem, called the city of David, 
till he had built her a palace. 

11. Apries, called Pharaoh-Hophra, succeeded his 
father Psammis, and reigned twenty-five years. 

During the first years of his reign, he was as happy as 
any of his predecessors. He carried his arms into Cy- 
prus; besieged the city of Sidon by sea and land; took 
it, and made himself master of all Phcenicia and Pales- 
tine. So rapid a success elated his heart to a prodigious 
degree, and, as Herodotus informs us, swelled him with 
so much pride and infatuation, that he boasted, it was not 
in the power of the gods themselves to dethrone him; so 
great was the idea he had formed to himself of the firm 
establishment of his own power. It was with a view to 
these arrogant conceits, that Ezekiel put the vain and 
impious words following into his mouth: " My river is 
mine own, and I have made it for myself." 

12. Amasis, after the death of his father Apries, be- 
came the possessor of Egypt in peace. Amasis Pha- 
raoh or Thmosis was according to Plato, a native of the 
city of Sais. He reigned 40 years; and expelling the 
shepherd kings, subjected Lower Egypt to his rule. He 
made an alliance with the Cyrenians, and married a wife 
among them. He is the only king of Egypt who con- 
quered the Island of Cyprus, and made it tributary. 



134 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

Long after his reign, Joseph was brought as a slave into 
Egypt and sold to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh. 

13. Rameses Miamun — accarding to Archbishop Ush- 
er, was the name of the king who is called Pharaoh in 
Scripture. He reigned over Egypt sixty-six years; and 
oppressed the Israelites most greviously. They built 
for him treasure cities, to receive the abundant products 
of that fertile land. Rameses Miamun Pharaoh left two 
sons, Amenophis and Busiris. 

14. Amenophis was the Pharaoh in whose reign the 
Israelites departed out of Egypt; and who was drowned 
in the Red Sea. Archbishop Usher says that Ameno- 
phis left two sons — one named Sesostris, and the other 
Armais. The Greeks called him Belus, and his two 
sons Egyptus, and Danaus. 

15. Sesostris or Sesosthis Pharaoh was not only one 
of the most powerful kings of Egypt, but one of the 
greatest conquerors antiquity could boast of. 

16. Pheron the son of Sesostris Pharaoh, succeeded 
his father in his kingdom, but not in his glory. He 
reigned fifty years king of Egypt. 

17. Proteus was another king of Egypt. According 
to Herodotus, he must have immediately succeeded the 
first — since he lived at the time of the siege of Troy, 
which according to Usher was taken anno mundi 2820. 

18. Rhampsinitus was another king of Egypt; and 
richer than any of his predecessors. He built a treasury. 

19. Cheops brother to Cephrenus, reigned fifty years 
king of Egypt. 

20. Cephrenus reigned after his brother fifty-six years. 
These two kings kept the temples shut during the whole 
time of their long reigns. They oppressed their subjects. 

21. Mycerinus the son of Cheops, reigned but seven 
years. He opened the temples; restored the sacrifices; 
and did all in his power to comfort his subjects, and make 
them forget their past miseries. 

22. Asychis, another Egyptian king, was a legislator. 
But he valued himself for having surpassed all his pred- 
ecessors in constructing a pyramid of brick more mag- 
nificent than any other. 

23. Alexander reigned twelve years monarch of Egypt. 



ANCIENT KINGS AND WARS. 135 

The division of his empire into four great monarchies, 
took place about twelve years after the death of Alex- 
ander, — 312 years B. C. Ptolemy, Lysimachus, 
Cassander, and Seleucus, four generals of Alexander, 
made this division among themselves, as had been fore- 
told by Daniel. Ptolemy had Egypt, Libya, Arabia, 
Coelosyria, and Palestine. Cassander, the son of Anti- 
pater, obtained Macedonia and Greece. Lysimachus 
acquired Thrace, Bithynia, and some other provinces 
on the other side of the Hellespont and the Bosphorus. 
And Seleucus had Syria, and all that part of Asia Major, 
which extended to the other side of the Euphrates, and 
as far as the river Indus. 

24. Lagus was the father of the Ptolemies who reigned 
in Egypt after Alexander's death. 

25. Ptolemy Soter reigned in Egypt thirty-eight 
years. From him the succeeding king took the ti- 
tle of Ptolemy, as they sometimes did that of Lagides 
from Lagus his father. 

26. Ptolemy, surnamed Soter, made himself master of 
Jerusalem by stratagem; he entered the city on the Sab- 
bath, under pretence of offering sacrifice, and while the 
Jews suspected nothing, but spent the day in ease and 
idleness, he surprised the city without resistance, and 
made the citizens captives. He sent several colonies of 
'Jews into Egypt, and put great confidence in them. 

27. Ptolemeus Philadelphus, son of Ptolemeus Soter, 
reigned forty years — two of them in the life time of his 
father. He being a great favorer of learning, built a 
most magnificent library at Alexander. Demetrius Pha- 
lereus, to whom he had committed the care of procuring 
all sorts of books, and out of all countries, persuaded 
him to employ seventy-two Jews in translating the Holy 
Scriptures out of the original Hebrew into the Greek 
tongue; which was done in the seventh year of his reign. 
The king also dismissed many captive Jews, and dedi- 
cated many presents to the temple of God at Jerusalem. 

28. Ptolemy Evergetes reigned twenty-five years. 

29. Ptolemy Philopator reigned seventeen years. 

30. Ptolemy Epiphanes reigned twenty-five years. 

31. Ptolemy Philometer reigned thirty-four years. 
After the death of Cleopatra, the Egyptian Q,ueen, 



1S6 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

the wife of Ptolemy Philometer, the kingdom of Egypt 
became a province of Rome under emperor Octavius 
Augustus. [Rollin.] 

The Battle of Philippi was fought 42 years B. C, It 
was gained by Octavius Caesar and Antony over the 
forces of the conspirators against Julius Csesar, headed 
by Brutus and Cassius. This decided the fate of the 
empire. 

Octavius, Antony and Lepidus, had formed a triumvi- 
rate for their mutual benefit, though the two former were 
rivals, and alike desirous of supreme authority. To 
gratify each other's wishes, each consented to sacrifice 
some of the best of his friends to the vengeance of his 
associate. 

In this way the great Cicero was given up by Octavius 
to the resentment of Antony. In this manner three hun- 
dred senators and three thousand knights were put to 
death. Octavius, being grand nephew of Julius Caesar, 
and his adopted heir, though destitute of military talents, 
had gained the senate to his interest, and divided with 
Antony the favor of the people. 

As soon as the conspirators were overtaken, Octavius 
and Antony gave them battle. This happened at Philip- 
pi, in Thrace, and Antony obtained the victory. Brutus 
and Cassius escaped the vengeance of their enemy, by 
a voluntary death. 

The Battle of Jictium^ and the end of the Roman Com- 
monwealth, took place 31 years B. C. The battle was 
fought between the naval forces of Octavius, and those 
of Antony, in which the former was victorius. Octavi- 
us became the sole master of the Roman world. 

Antony had excited the indignation of the Roman peo- 
ple, on account of his profligacy, and expenditure of the 
public resources. And having divorced Octavia, his 
wife, who was sister to Octavius, war between them be- 
came inevitable. The object at stake was the empire. 

An immense armament, chiefly naval [the land force 
being merely spectators] came to an engagement near 
Actium on the coast of Epirus. The conflict was de- 
cisive. Cleopatra, the Egyptian queen, to whom Anto- 
ny was infamously attached, deserted him with her gal- 
lies, in the midst of the engagement. 



ANCIENT KINGS AND WARS. 137 

Such was his infatuation that he immediately followed 
her, leaving his fleet, which, after a contest of some 
hours, yielded to the squadron of Octavius. Antony 
and Cleopatra perished miserably, while Octavius was 
now left without a rival, with the government of Rome 
in his hands. Egypt which had existed a kingdom from 
immemorial ages, from this time became a province of 
Rome. 

The empire had now become the largest which the 
world had ever seen; and Octavius, now named Augus- 
tus, holding the principal offices of the state, became 
the absolute master of the lives and foH jnes of the Ro- 
man people. During a long administration, he almost 
obliterated the memory of his former cruelties, and 
seemed to consult only the good of his subjects. 



THE CHARACTER OF JULIUS CJSSAR. 
C^sAR was endowed with every great and noble qual- 
ity, that could exalt human nature, and give a man the 
ascendant in society: formed to excel in peace, as well 
as war; provident in council; fearless in action; and ex- 
ecuting what he had resolved with an amazing celerity: 
generous beyond measure to his friends; placable to his 
enemies; and for learning, and eloquence, scarce infe- 
rior to any man. His orations were admired for two 
qualities, which are seldom found together, strength and 
elegance. Cicero ranks him among the greatest ora- 
tors that Rome ever bred; and Q,uinctilian says, that he 
spoke with the same force with which he fought; and if 
he had devoted himself to the bar, would have been the 
only man capable of rivalling Cicero. Nor was he a 
master only of the politer arts, but conversant also with 
the most abstruse and critical parts of learning; and, 
among other works which he published, addressed two 
books to Cicero, on the analogy of language, or the art 
of speaking and writing correctly. He was a most lib- 
eral patron of wit and learning, wheresoever they were 
found; and out of his love of those talents, would readi- 
ly pardon those who had employed them against himself: 
rightly judging that by making such men his friends, he 
10 



138 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

should draw praises from the same fountain from which 
he had been aspersed. His capital passions were am- 
bition, and love of pleasure; which he indulged in their 
turns to the greatest excess: yet the first was always 
predominant; to which he could easily sacrifice all the 
charms of the second, and draw pleasure even from toils 
and dangers, when they ministered to his glory. For 
he thought Tyranny, as Cicero says, the greatest of 
goddesses; and had frequently in his mouth a verse of 
Euripedes, which expressed the image of his soul, that 
if right and justice were ever to be violated, they were 
to be violated for the sake of reig-ning:. This was the 
chief end and purpose of his life; the scheme that he 
had formed from his early youth; so that, as Cato truly 
declared of him, he came with sobriety and meditation 
to the subversion of the republic. He used to say, that 
there were two things necessary, to acquire and support 
power — soldiers and money ; which yet depended mu- 
tually upon each other: with money, therefore, he pro- 
vided soldiers, and with soldiers extorted money; and 
was, of all men, the most rapacious in plundering both 
friends and foes; sparing neither prince, nor state, nor 
temple, nor even private persons, who were known to 
possess any share of treasure. His great abilities 
would necessarily have made him one of the first citizens 
of Rome; but, disdaining the condition of a subject, he 
could never rest till he made himself a monarch. In 
acting this last part, his usual prudence seemed to fail 
him; as if the height to which he was mounted, had 
turned his head, and made him giddy: for, by a vain os- 
tentation of his power, he destroyed the stability of it: 
and as men shorten life by living too fast, so by an in- 
temperance of reigning, he brought his reign to a vio- 
lent end. [Middleton.] 



A COMPARISON OF C^SAR WITH CATO. 

As to their extraction, years, and eloquence, they 
were pretty nigh equal. Both of them had the same 
greatness of mind, both the same degree of glory, but 
in different ways: Caesar was celebrated for his great 



• 



ANCIENT KINGS AND WARS. 139 

bounty and generosity; Cato for his unsullied integrity: 
the former became renowned by his humanity and com- 
passion; an austere severity heightened the dignity of 
the latter. Caesar acquired glory by a liberal, compas- 
sionate and forgiving temper; as did Cato, by never be- 
stowing anything. In the one, the miserable found a 
sanctuary; in the other, the guilty met with a certain 
destruction. Caesar was admired for an easy yielding 
temper; Cato for his immovable firmness. Caesar, in 
a word, had formed himself for a laborious active life; 
was intent upon promoting the interest of his friends, to 
the neglect of his own; and refused to grant nothing 
that was worth accepting: what he desired for himself, 
was to have sovereign command, to be at the head of 
armies, and engaged in new wars, in order to display 
his military talents. As for Cato, his only study was 
moderation, regular conduct, and, above all, rigorous 
severity: he did not vie with the rich in riches, nor in 
faction with the factious; but, taking a nobler aim, he 
contended in bravery with the brave, in modesty with 
the modest, in integrity with the upright; and was more 
desirous to be virtuous, than appear so; so that the less 
he courted the same, the more it followed him. [Sal- 
lust, by Mr. Rose.] 



THE CHARACTER OF CATO. 

If we consider the character of Cato without preju- 
dice, he was certainly a great and worthy man; a friend 
to truth, virtue, liberty; yet, falsely measuring all duty 
by the absurd Vigor of the stoical rule, he was generally 
disappointed of the end which he sought by it, the hap- 
piness both of his private and public life. In his private 
conduct he was severe, morose, inexorable; banishing 
all the softer affections, as natural enemies to justice, 
and as suggesting false motives of acting, from favor, 
clemency, and compassion: in public affairs he was 
the same; had but one rule of policy, to adhere to 
what was right, without regard to time or circum- 
stances, or even to a force that could control him; 
for, instead of managing the power of the great, so 



140 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

as to mitigate the ill, or extract any good from it, 
he was urging it always to acts of violence by a per- 
petual defiance; so that, with the best intentions in 
the world, he often did great harm to the republic. 
This was his general behavior; yet from some particu- 
lar facts, it appears that his strength of mind was not 
always impregnable, but had its weak places of pride, 
ambition, and party zeal; which, when managed and 
jflattered to a certain point, would betray him sometimes 
into measures contrary to his ordinary rule of right and 
truth. The last act of his life was agreeable to his na- 
ture and philosophy: when he could no longer be what 
he had been; or when the ills of life overbalanced the 
good, which, by the principles of his sect, was a just 
cause for dying; he put an end to his life with a spirit 
and resolution which would make one imagine, that he 
was glad to have found an occasion of dying in his 
proper character. On the whole, his life was rather ad- 
mirable than amiable; fit to be praised, rather than im- 
itated. [Middleton.j 



THE EGYPTMNS RISE AGAINST PERSIA, SUPPORT- 
ED BY THE ATHENIANS. 

About 3538 A. M., the Egyptians, to free themselves 
from a foreign yoke which was insupportable to them, 
revolted from Artaxerxes, and made Inarus, prince of 
the Libyans, their king. They demanded aid of the 
Athenians, who having at that time a fleet of two hun- 
dred ships at the island of Cyprus, accepted the invita- 
tion with pleasure, and immediately set sail for Egypt; 
judging this a very favorable opportunity to weaken the 
power of*the Persians, by driving them out of so great a 
kingdom. 

Advice being brought Artaxerxes of this revolt, he 
raised an army of three hundred thousand men, and' re- 
solved to march in person against the rebels. But his 
friends advising him not to venture himself in that expe- 
dition, he gave the command of it to Achsemenes, one of 
his brothers. The latter being arrived in Egypt, en- 
camped his great army on the banks of the Nile. During 



ANCIENT KINGS AND WARS. 141 

this interval, the Athenians having defeated the Persian 
fleet, and either destroyed or taken fifty of their ships; 
they went again up that river, landed their forces under 
the command of Charitimis their general; and having 
joined Inarus and his Egyptians, they charged Achseme- 
nes, and defeated him in a great battle, in which that 
Persian general, and an hundred thousand of his soldiers 
were slain. Those who escaped, fled to Memphis, whither 
the conquerors pursued them, and immediately made 
themselves masters of two quarters of the city: but the 
Persians having fortified themselves in the third, called 
the white w^all, which was the largest and strongest of 
the three, they were besieged in it nearly three years, 
during which they made a most vigorous defence, till 
they were at last delivered by the forces sent to their 
aid. 

Artaxerxes hearing of the defeat of his army, and how 
much the Athenians had contributed to it; to make a di- 
version of their forces, and oblige them to turn their 
arms another way, he sent ambassadors to the Lacedae- 
monians with a large sum of money, to engage them to 
proclaim war against the Athenians. But the Lacedae- 
monians having rejected the offer, their refusal did not 
abate his ardor, and accordingly he gave Meg-abysus and 
Artabazus the command of the forces designed against 
Egypt. These generals immediately raised an army of 
three hundred thousand men in Cilicia and Phoenicia, 
They were obliged to wait till the fleet was equipped, 
which was not till the next year. Artabazus then took 
upon him the command of it, and sailed towards the Nile, 
whilst Megabysus, at the head of the land-army, marched 
towards Memphis. He raised the siege of that city, and 
afterwards fought Inarus. All the forces on both sides 
engaged in this battle, in which Inarus was entirely de- 
feated: but the Egyptians, who had rebelled, suffered 
most in this slaughter. After this defeat, Inarus, though 
wounded by Megabysus, retreated with the Athenians, 
and such Egyptians as were willing to follow him; and 
reached Biblos, a city in the island of Prosopitis, which 
is surrounded by two arms of the Nile, and both naviga- 
ble. The Athenians ran their fleet into one of these 
arms, where it was secured from the attacks of the ene^ 



142 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

my, and held out a siege of a year and a half in this 
island. [RoUin.] 



THE ANCIENT KINGS. 

TiRHAKAH, king of Ethiopia, destroyed by conquest 
many nations and took their countries and cast their gods 
into the fire. He having good counsel, was strong for 
the war, with thousands of chariots, horsemen and sol- 
diers. He took Hamath, Arpad, Sepharvaim, Hena, 
Ivah, Samaria, Libnah and Lachish, and came out to 
fight against Judea and Jerusalem; he sent messengers 
unto Hezekiah, king of Judea, saying, Who are there 
among all the gods that have delivered their countries 
out of my hand ? And what Lord shall deliver Jerusalem 
out of my hand .'* Make an agreement with me by a 
present and come out to me, and then eat ye every man 
of his own vine, and every one of his fig-tree, and drink 
you every one the water of his cistern until I come and 
take you away to a land like your own land, a land of 
corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of 
oil, olive and honey, that ye may live and not die. Hast 
thou not heard long ago what I have done in ancient 
time? that I have digged and drank strange water and 
with the soles of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of 
besieged places? laid waste fenced cities into ruinous 
heaps? their inhabitants were dismayed and confounded; 
they were as the grass, as the green herb, as the corn 
blasted before it be grown up! (2 Kings viii. xix.) 

Cambyses. The first of this name was a king of Persia, 
the father of Cyrus the Great. He gave to the young 
prince such noble instructions as were well adapted to 
form the great captain and prince ; he exhorted him above 
ail things to pay the highest reverence to the gods, and not 
to undertake any enterprise, whether important or incon- 
siderable, without first calling upon and consulting them. 

Cambyses, the son and successor of Cyrus, carried his 
army into Egypt. On his arrival there, Amasis, the king, 
was just dead, and was succeeded by his son Psammeni-^ 
tus, who was made king. 

Cambyses, after having succeeded in a battle, pursued the 



ANCIENT KINGS AND WARS. 143 

enemy to Memphis, besieged the city, and soon took it 
When Cambyses had resolved to make war upon the Car- 
thaginians, the Phcenicians, who formed the chief strength 
of his fleet told him plainly, that they could not serve 
him against their countrymen, and this declaration obliged 
the prince to lay aside his design. 

The Carthaginians, on their side, were never forgetful 
of the country from whence they came, and to whom they 
owed their origin. A royal city of Ethiopia, Cambyses 
named Meroe, for his own sister, after he had taken it. 
[Rollin and Strabo.] 

Cyaxares, a brother of Cambyses, the uncle of Cyrus 
the Great, an Ethiopian, in the sovereignty of the Medes. 
This empire he united, besides the Babylonians, which he 
vanquished. The Lydians he subjected, and the greatest 
part of lesser Asia, and made himself master of Assyria 
and Arabia. [Rollin.] 

Cyrus, son of Cambyses, king of Persia, by the daughter 
of Ahasuerus, king of Media, inherited the crowns both 
of Media and Persia, and reigned 30 years. In the first 
three chapters of the book of Ezra, we have an account of 
God's having disposed Cyrus to promote the re-building of 
the city and temple of Jerusalem, who was described by 
name nearly 200 years before he appeared. He was a 
wise and successful prince, and conquered most of the 
east. He mounted the throne of Persia 536 years before 
Christ. The God of armies blessed Cyrus, marching before 
him and conducting him from city to city, and from prov- 
ince to province, subduing nations before him, and loosen- 
ing the loins of kings ; breaking in pieces gates of brass, 
cutting asunder the bars of iron, throwing down the walls 
and bulwarks of cities, and putting him in possession of 
the treasures of darkness, and the hidden riches of secret 
places. He ordained Cyrus to be the deliverer of his peo- 
ple, Israel ; and to enable him to support with dignity so 
glorious a function, the Lord endowed him with all the 
qualities which constitute the greatest captain and prince, 
and caused that excellent education to be given him which 
the heathens so much admired, though they knew neither 
the author or the true cause of it. The destruction of 
Babylon was foretold by the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah, 
although so strongly fortified, both by nature and art, as to 



144 LIGHT AND TRUTH. ^ 

be thought impregnable. The walls are said to have been 
350 feet high, and so broad, that six chariots could go 
abreast upon them. 

Cyrus the Great, the predestined conqueror of Babylon, 
took it by surprise, whilst the inhabitants, lulled into a 
false security, were indulging themselves in all the ex- 
travagance of riotous and intemperate feasting. 

Cyrus spent the last part of his life in consolidating his 
vast conquests, being greatly beloved not only by his own 
natural subjects, but by those of the conquered nations. 
[Rollin.] 

Ahasuerus, or Artaxerxes, (Ezra iv. 7 ; Esther i. 8,) 
was king over an hundred and seven and twenty provinces. 
He reigned from India even unto Ethiopia. This Ethiopia 
seems to have been the kingdom of Abyssinia, in Africa. 
One of the wives of Ahasuerus was Esther, the daughter of 
Abihail, a Jewish captive, whom the king of Media and 
Persia had taken in the room of Vashti, the queen. In the 
third year of Ahasuerus's reign, he made a feast unto all 
his princes and his servants ; the power of Persia and 
Media, the nobles and princes of the provinces being before 
him. This prince was remarkable for his goodness and 
generosity. He reigned about forty-nine years. In the 
beginning of his reign, he fought a bloody battle against 
his brother Hystaspes, governor of Bactriana, who had 
revolted ; in which a great number of Persian nobles lost 
their lives. Artaxerxes having at length entirely defeated 
his enemies, put to death all who had engaged in this con- 
spiracy. By this victory he secured to himself the quiet 
possession of the empire. 

In the revolt of the Egyptians against Persia, supported 
by the Athenians, Inarus was made their king. The Athe- 
nians sent their army to the aid of their besieged country- 
men, who sailed up one of the arms of the Nile. The Persian 
fleet, which kept out at sea, followed them and attacked their 
rear, whilst the army discharged showers of darts upon 
them from the banks of the river ; thus only a few ships 
escaped, which opened themselves a way through the ene- 
my's fleet, and all the rest were lost. Here ended the 
fatal war carried on by the Athenians for six years in 
Egypt; which kingdom was now united again to the 
Persian empire, and continued so during the rest of 



ANCIENT KINGS AND WARS. 145 

the reign of Artaxerxes. Megabysus was in the deepest 
affliction because Inarus and his Athenians has been deliv- 
ered up to the king's mother, contiary to the articles of the 
treaty, as he had promised that no injury should be done 
them. But this inhuman princess, without regard to the 
faith of solemn treaties, caused Inarus to be crucified, and 
beheaded all the rest. Megabysus left the king's court, 
and withdrew to Syria, where he was chosen governor. 
His discontent was so great that he raised an army and 
revolted openly. 

The king sent Osiris, who was one of the greatest lords 
of the court, against him with an army of two hundred 
thousand men. Megabysus engaged Osiris, wounded him, 
took him prisoner, and put his army to flight. Artaxerxes 
sending to demand Osiris, Megabysus generously dismissed 
him, as soon as his wounds were cured. 

The next year Artaxerxes sent another army against him, 
the command of which he gave to Menostanes, son to 
Artarius the king's brother, and governor of Babylon. 
This general was not more fortunate than the former. He 
also was defeated and put to flight, and Megabysus gained 
as signal a victory as the former. 

Artaxerxes finding he could not reduce him by force of 
arms, sent his brother Artarius and Amytis his sister, who 
was the wife of Megabysus, with several other persons of 
the first quality, to persuade the latter to return to his 
allegiance. They succeeded in their negotiation ; the king 
pardoned him, and he returned to court. 

Ahasuerus, the king, had a favorite named Haman, 
whose mind was filled with pride and cruelty; being enrag- 
ed because Mordecai, a noble Jew, would not pay homage, 
as the rest of the people did, he formed the design of 
destroying all the Jews in the Persian dominions on a cer- 
tain day. 

But Esther, being informed by Mordecai of the plot laid 
for their destruction, took an opportunity of informing the 
kino- of his treacherous designs, and of unveilintr to him 
the real character of Haman : upon which the king ordered 
him to be put to death, and he was hanged on the very 
gibbet which he had erected with the hope of destroying 
Mordecai. In commemoration of this event, the feast of 
Purim was instituted. 



l46 



LIGHT AND TRUTH. 



In the reign of Artaxerxes, Malachi wrote his book, 
which was the end of vision and prophecy, 397 years B. C, 
and prophesied the coming of John the Baptist, under the 
name of Elias. 

In the seventh year of the reign of Artaxerxes, Esdras 
obtained of the king and his seven counsellors an ample 
commission, empowering him to return to Jerusalem with 
all such Jews as would follow him thither, in order to set- 
tle the Jewish government and religion agreeably to their 
own l^ws. Esdras was descended from Saraia, who was 
high-priest of Jerusalem, when it was destroyed by Nebu- 
chadnezzar, a very learned and pious man, and was chiefly 
distinguished from the rest of the Jews by his great knowl- 
edge. 

Some Jews who came from Jerusalem, having informed 
Nehemiah of the sad fate of that city, that its walls lay in 
ruins, its gates were burnt down, and the inhabitants 
thereby exposed to the insults of their enemies, and made 
the scorn of all their neighbors ; the afiiliction of his breth- 
ren, and the dangers with which they were menaced, made 
such an impression on his mind as might naturally be ex- 
pected from one of his piety. One day, as he was waiting 
upon the king, the latter observing an unusual air of 
melancholy in Nehemiah's contenance, asked him the cause 
of it. Nehemiah took this opportunity to acquaint him 
with the calamitous state of his country; owned that was 
the subject of his grief, and humbly entreated that leave 
might be given him to go to Jerusalem, in order to repair 
the fortifications of it. The kings of Persia his predeces- 
sors, had permitted the Jews to rebuild the temple, but not 
the walls of Jerusalem. But Artaxerxes immediately 
decreed that the walls and gates of Jerusalem should be 
rebuilt ; and Nehemiah, as governor of Judea, was appointed 
to put this decree into execution. The king, to do him 
the greater honor, ordered a body of horse, commanded by 
a considerable officer, to escort him thither. He likewise 
wrote to all, the governors of the provinces on this side the 
Euphrates, to give him all the assistance possible in for- 
warding the work for which he was sent. This pious Jew 
executed every part of his commission with incredible 
zeal and activity. 

It is from this decree, enacted by Artaxerxes in the 



ANCIENT KINGS AND WARS. 147 

twentieth year of his reign, that the walls of Jerusalem 
were rebuilt. *' And the elders of the Jews builded, and 
they prospered through the prophecy ing of Haggai the 
prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they build- 
ed and finished it, accordincr to the commandment of the 
God of Israel, and according to the commandment oi 
Cyrus and Darius, and Artaxerxes, king of Persia. 
Ezra vi. 

Cyrus the younger, brother of Artaxerxes, formed the 
project of dethroning him, and with the aid of 13,000 
Greeks, engaged him in battle near Babylon. This battle 
happened about 401 years B. C. 

Darius, the son of Ahasuerus, (Daniel, ix. 1,) or Arta- 
xerxes, who reigned thirty-six years king of Chaldea, Me- 
dia and Persia. Before Darius was elected king, he had 
married the daughter of Gobryas, whose name is not 
known. Artabarzanes, his eldest son by her, afterwards 
disputed the empire with Xerxes. 

When Darius was seated on the throne, the better to se- 
cure himself therein, he married two of Cyrus' daughters, 
Atossa and Aristona. The former had been wife to Cam- 
byses, her own bro'ther, and afterwards to Smerdis the Ma- 
gian, during the time he possessed the throne. Aristona 
was still a virgin, when Darius married her ; and of all his 
wives, was the person he most loved. He likewise mar- 
ried Parmys, daughter of the true Smerdis, who was Cam- 
byses' brother, as also Phedyma, daughter of Otanes. By 
these wives he had a great number of children of both 
sexes. And it pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an 
hundred and twenty princes, which should be over the 
whole realm. 

Daniel was highly esteemed by Darius, who made him 
first president of the kingdom ; this exaltation gave great 
offence to the nobles, who, not being able to make any 
just accusation against him, prevailed upon the king to 
sign a rash decree, that whoever should offer any prayer, or 
petition to either God or man, for the space of thirty days, 
excepting the king, should be cast into the den of lions. 

The enemies of Daniel, observing that, as usual, he ad- 
dressed his petitions to God, accused him, and insisted 
upon his incurring the penalty ; but the Almighty preserved 
his faithful servant; and, to the great joy of the king, 



148 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

Daniel came unhurt out of the lion's den, into which his 
accusers were cast, and instantly torn to pieces. 

Daniel flourished during the successive reigns of several 
Babylonish and Median kings. 

The people of God returned from their Babylonish cap- 
tivity to Jerusalem, under the conduct of Zorobabel. 

Darius, first of all, sent Ezra to Jerusalem, and re- 
stored the public worship, and the observation of the law. 
Nehemiah caused walls to be built round the city, and 
fortified it against the attacks of their neighbors. He 
caused an edict to be published, in which it was ordained, 
that all the victims, oblations, and other expenses of the 
temple, be abundantly furnished the Jews, as the priests 
should require; it enjoined the priests of Jerusalem, when 
they offered their sacrifices to the God of heaven, to pray 
for the preservation of the life of the king and the princes, 
his children ; denouncing imprecations against all princes 
and people, that should hinder the carrying on of the 
building of the temple, or that should attempt to des- 
troy it ; by all which, Darius evidently acknowledges, that 
the God of Israel is able to overturn the kingdoms of the 
world, and to dethrone the most mighty and powerful prin- 
ces. By virtue of this edict, the Jews were not only author- 
ized to proceed in the building of their temple, but all the 
expenses thereof were also to be furnished to them, out of 
the taxes and imposts of the province. 

What constitutes the solid glory of Darius' reign is, his 
being chosen by God himself, as Cyrus had been before, to 
be the instrument of his mercies towards his people, the 
declared protector of the Israelites, and the restorer of the 
temple at Jerusalem. The reader may see this part of his 
history in the book of Ezra, and in the writings of the. 
prophets Haggai and Zechariah. 

In the beginning of the fifth year of Darius, Babylon re- 
volted, and could not be reduced till after a twenty month's 
siege. This city, formerly mistress of the East, grew im- 
patient of the Persian yoke, especially after the removing 
of the imperial seat to Susa, which very much diminished 
Babylon's wealth and grandeur. The Babylonians, taking 
advantage of the revolution that happened in Persia, first 
on the death of Cambyses, and afterwards on the massacre 
of the JMagians, made secretly, for four years together, all 



ANCIENT KINGS AND WARS. l49 

kinds of preparations for war. When they thought the 
city sufficiently stored with provisions for many years, they 
set up the standard of rebellion : which obliged Darius to 
besiege them with all his forces. Now God continued to 
accomplis h those terrible threatenings he had denounced 
against Babylon: that he would not only humble and bring 
down that proud and impious city, but depopulate and lay 
it waste with fire and blood; utterly exterminate it, and re- 
duce it to an eternal solitude. In order to fulfill these pre- 
dictions, God permitted the Babylonians to rebel against 
Darius, and by that means to draw upon themselves the 
whole force of the Persian empire : and they themselves 
were the first in putting these prophecies in execution, by 
destroying a great number of their own people, as will be 
seen presently. It is probable, that the Jews, of whom a 
considerable number remained at Babylon, went out of 
the city, before the siege was formed, as the prophets 
Isaiah and Jeremiah had exhorted them long before, and 
Zechariah very lately, in the following terms : Thou Sion, 
that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon, Jlee from the 
country, and save thyself. 

No sooner was Darius in possession of Babylon, but he 
ordered the hundred gates to be pulled down, and all the 
walls of that proud city to be entirely demolished, that she 
might never be in a condition to rebel more against him, 
and in order to hinder the depopulation of the city, he 
caused fifty thousand women to be brought from the seve- 
ral provinces of his empire, to supply the place of those, 
which the inhabitants had so cruelly destroyed at the begin- 
ning of the siege. Such was the fate of Babylon ; and 
thus did God execute his vengeance on that impious city, 
for the cruelty she has exercised towards the Jews, in fall- 
ing upon a free people without any reason or provocation ; 
in destroying their government, laws and worship ; in for- 
cing them from their country, and transporting them to a 
strange land; where they imposed a most grievous yoke of 
servitude upon them, and made use of all their power to 
crush and afflict an unhappy nation. 



150 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

DARIUS' EXPEDITION AGAINST THE SCYTHIANS. 

After, the reduction of Babylon, Darius made great 
preparations for the war against the Scythians, who inhab- 
ited that large tract of land which lies between the Danube 
and the Tanais. His pretence for undertaking this war 
was to be revenored of that nation for the invasion of Asia 
by their ancestors: a very frivolous pretext; and a 
very ridiculous ground for reviving an old quarrel, which 
had ceased an hundred and twenty years before. Whilst 
the Scythians were employed in that irruption, which lasted 
eight and twenty years, the Scythian wives married their 
slaves. When the husbands were on their return home, 
these slaves went out to meet them with a numerous army, 
and disputed their entrance into their country. After 
some battles, fought with pretty equal loss on both sides, 
the slaves were conquered. 

J have already observed, that the pretence used by Da- 
rius, for undertaking this war against the Scythians, was 
the irruption formerly made by that people into Asia : but 
in reality he had no other end therein, than to satisfy his 
own ambition, and to extend his conquests. He departed 
from Susa at the head of an army of seven hundred thou- 
sand men ; and his fleet, consisting of six hundred s^il of 
ships, was chiefly manned with lonians, and other Grecian 
nations, that dwelt upon the sea coasts of Asia Minor and 
the Hellespont. He marched his army towards the Thra- 
cian Bosphorus, which he passed upon a bridge of boats : 
after which, having made himself master of all Thrace, he 
came to the banks of the Danube, otherwise called the Is- 
ter, where he had ordered his fleet to join him. In several 
places on his march he caused pillars to be erected with 
magnificent inscriptions, and when the army had passed the 
Danube upon a bridge of boats, the king was for having the 
bridge broken down, that his army might not be weakened 
by leaving so considerable a detachment of his troops, as 
were necessary to guard it. 

Darius, weary of these tedious and fatiguing pursuits, 
sent an herald to the king of the Scythians, whose name 
was Indathyrsus, with this message in his name : " Prince 
of the Scythians, wherefore dost thou continually fly be- 
fore me 1 Why dost thou not stop somewhere or other, 



ANCIENT KINGS AND WARS. 151 

either to give me battle, if thou believest thyself able to 
encounter me, or, if thou thinkest thyself too weak, to ac- 
knowledge thy master, by presenting him with earth and 
water ? " The Scythians were an high spirited people, ex- 
tremely jealous of their liberty, and professed enemies to 
all slavery. Indathyrsus sent Darius the following answer : 
" If I fly before thee, prince of the Persians, it is not be- 
cause I fear thee ; what I do now, is no more than what I 
am used to do in time of peace. We Scythians have 
neither cities nor lands to defend ; if thou hast a mind to 
force us to come to an engagement, come and attack the 
tombs of our fathers, and thou shalt find what manner of 
men we are. As to the title of master, which thou assum- 
est, keep it for other nations than the Scythians. For my 
part, I acknowledge no other master than the great Jupiter, 
one of my own ancestors, and the goddess Vesta." The 
farther Darius advanced into the country, the greater hard- 
ships his army was exposed to. 

Darius deliberated no longer, finding himself under an 
absoluite necessity of quitting his imprudent enterprise. 
He began then to think in earnest upon returning home ; 
and saw but too plainly that there was no time to be lost. 
Therefore, as soon as night came, the Persians, to de- 
ceive the enemy, lighted a great number of fires, as usual ; 
and leaving the old men and the sick behind them in the 
camp, together with all their asses, which made a sufficient 
noise, they marched away as fast as they could, in order to 
reach the Danube. 

Darius, on his return to Sardis after his unhappy expe- 
dition against the Scythians, having learnt for certain that 
he owed both his own safety and that of his whole army 
to Hystseus, whojiad persuaded the lonians not to destroy 
the bridge on the Danube, sent for that prince to his court, 
and desired him freely to ask any favor, in recompence of 
his service. Hystseus hereupon desired the king to give 
him Mercina of Edonia, a territory upon the river Strymon, 
in Thrace, together with the liberty of building a city 
there. His request was readily granted : whereupon here- 
turned to Miletos, where he caused a fleet of ships to be 
equipped, and then set out for Thrace. Having taken pos- 
session of the territory granted him, he immediately set 
about the execution of his project in building a city. 



152 LIGHT AND TRUTH, 

DARIUS' CONQUEST OF INDIA, &c. 

About the same time, which was in the 13th year of 
Darius' reign, this prince, having an ambition to extend his 
dominion eastward, first resolved, in order to facilitate his 
conquests, to get a proper knowledge of the country. To 
this end, he caused a fleet to be built and fitted out at Cas- 
patyra, a city upon the Indus, and did the same at several 
other places on the same river, as far as the frontiers of 
Scythia. The command of this fleet was given to Scylax, 
a Grecian of Caryandia, a town of Caria, who was perfect- 
ly well versed in maritime affairs. His orders were to sail 
down the river, and get all the knowledge he possibly could 
of the country on both sides, quite down to its mouth ; 
to pass from thence into the southern ocean, and 
to steer his course afterwards to the west, and so return 
back that way to Persia. Scylax, having exactly observed 
his instructions, and sailed quite down the river Indus, en- 
tered the Red Sea by the straits of Babelmandel ; and af- 
ter a voyage of thirty months from the time of his setting 
out from Caspatyra, he arrived in Egypt at the same port, 
from whence Nechao, king of Egypt, had formerly sent the 
Phoenicians, who were in his service, with orders to sail 
round the coasts of Africa. Very probably this was the 
same port where now stands the town of Suez, at the far- 
ther end of the Red Sea. From thence Scylax returned 
to Susa, where he orave Darius an account of all his dis- 
coveries. Darius afterwards entered India with an army, 
and subjected all that vast country. The reader will natu- 
rally expect to be informed of the particulars of so impor- 
tant a war. But Herodotus says not one word about it ; 
he only tells us that India made the twentieth province, or 
government of the Persian empire, and that the annual 
revenue of it was worth three hundred and sixty talents of 
gold to Darius, which amounts to near eleven millions of 
livres, French money, something less than five hundred 
thousand pounds sterling. 

Darius, after his return to Susa from his Scythian ex- 
pedition, had given his brother Artaphernes the govern- 
ment of Sardis, and made Otanes commander in Thrace, 
and the adjacent countries along the sea coast, in the room 
of Megabysus. 



ANCIENT KINGS AND WARS. 153 

From a small spark, kindled by a sedition at Naxus, a 
great flame arose, which gave occasion to a considerable 
war. Naxus was the most important island of the Cyclades 
in the iEgean Sea, now called the Archipelago. 

Darius immediately sent away Datis and Artaphernes, 
whom he had appointed generals in the room of Mardoni- 
us. Their instructions were, to give up Eretria and Athens 
to be plundered ; to burn all the houses and temples there- 
in ; to make all the inhabitants of both places prisoners, 
and to send them to Darius ; for which purpose they went 
provided with a great number of chains and fetters. They 
set sail with a fleet of five or six hundred ships, and an 
army of five hundred thousand men. After having made 
themselves masters of the isles in the yEgean Sea, which 
they did without difficulty, they turned their course towards 
Eretria, a city of Eubcea, which they took after a siege of 
seven days by the treachery of some of the principal in- 
habitants ; they reduced it entirely to ashes, put all the 
inhabitants in chains, and sent them to Persia. Darius, 
contrary to their expectation, treated them kindly, and 
gave them a village in the country of Cissia for their habi- 
tation, which was but a day's journey from Susa, where 
Apollonius Tyaneus found some of their descendants six 
hundred years afterwards. (Rollin.) 



ALEXANDER. 

Alexander the Great, the son of Philip, succeed- 
ed to the throne of Macedonia, at the age of 20 years. 
He passed out of' Europe into Asia and began to lay 
waste the Persian empire 330 years B, C, and 206 years 
from the time of Cyrus the Great. 

Alexander marched toward Jerusalem, intending to 
besiege it. Jaddus the high priest, hearing of it, put on 
his priestly ornaments, and accompanied with the people 
all in white, went out to meet him. Alexander, seeing 
his habit, fell prostrate before him, saying, that whilst 
he was in Macedonia, a man appeared unto him in the 
very same habit, who invited him to come into Asia, and 
promised to deliver the Persian empire into his hands. Af- 
11 



154 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

ter this he went to the temple, and offered sacrifice ac- 
cording to the high priest's direction. They showed him 
the prophecy of Daniel, that a Grecian should come and 
destroy the Persians; whereby he was mightily confirmed 
in his persuasion that he himself was the man. Lastly, he 
bestowed on the Jews whatever favors they desired and 
departed. 



THE OVERTHROW OF THE PERSIAN EMPIRE. 

Its fate was decided in the battle of Arbela, fought be- 
tween Alexander and Darius. In this battle Darius is 
said to have lost 300,000 men. Two other battles had 
been previously fought between Alexander and the Per- 
sian monarch, in both of which the former was successful. 
Darius soon afterwards being betrayed by one of his own 
satraps, was cruelly murdered. 

Alexander had taken up his father's project of con- 
quering Persia, and was in like manner appointed by the 
Grecian states commander in chief of their forces. He 
took with him only 35,000 men, and with this small force 
he not only conquered Persia, but Syria, Egypt and 
India, and remained universal monarch of the eastern 
world, Alexander meditated the design of proceeding to 
the eastern ocean. 

His army refusing to second his wishes, he was obliged 
to return, after having penetrated to the Ganges. Stung 
with mortification at the limits assigned to his conquests, 
which he vainly believed would be commensurate with 
the globe, he abandoned himself to every excess of luxu- 
ry. While he tarried at Babylon on his return home, he 
suddenly died, in a fit of debauch, in the 33d year of his 
age, and 13th of his reign. [Jos. Ant. 1. 11. c. viii.] 



THE HISTORY OF XERXES. 

He was the son of Darius by Atossa, the daughter of 
Cyrus, who reigned twelve years king of Persia. Xerxes 
having ascended the throne, employed the first year of 



ANCIENT KINGS AND WARS. 155 

his reign in carrying on the preparations, begun by liis 
father, for the reduction of Egypt. He also confirmed to 
the Jews at Jerusalem all the privileges granted to them 
by his father, and particularly that which assigned them 
the tribute of Samaria, for the supplying of them with 
victims for the temple of God. 

In the second year of his reign he marched against the 
Egyptians, and having reduced and subdued Egypt, he 
made the yoke of their subjection more heavy; then 
giving the government of that province to his brother 
Achsemenes, he returned about the latter end of the year 
to Susa. 

Xerxes, puffed up with this success against the Egyp- 
tians, determined to make war against the Grecians. He 
did not intend, he said, to buy the figs of Attica, which 
were very excellent, any longer, because he would eat 
no more of them till he was master of the country. 

The war being resolved upon, Xerxes, that he might 
omit nothing which mi^ht contribute to the success of his 
undertaking, entered into a confederacy with the Car- 
thaginians, who were at that time the most potent people 
of the west, and made an agreement with them, that 
whilst the Persian forces should attack Greece, the Car- 
thaginians should fall upon the Grecian colonies that 
were settled in Sicily and Italy, in order to hinder them 
from coming to the aid of the other Grecians. The 
Carthajyinians made Amilcar their general, who did not 
content himself with raising as many troops as he could 
in Africa, but with the money that Xerxes had sent him, 
engaged a great number of soldiers out of Spain, Gaul, 
and Italy, in his service; so that he collected an army of 
three hundred thousand men, and a proportionate num- 
ber of ships, in order to execute the projects and stipula- 
tions of the league. 

Thus Xerxes, agreeably to the prophet DaniePs pre- 
diction, having through his power and his great riches 
stirred up all the nations of the then known world against 
the realm of Greece, that is to say, of all the west under 
the command of Amilcar, and of all the east, that was 
under his own banner, set out from Susa, in order to 
enter upon this war, in the fifth year of his reign, which 
was the tenth after the battle of Marathon, and marched 



156 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

towards Sardis, the place of rendezvous for the whole 
land army, whilst the fleet advanced along the coasts of 
Asia Minor towards the Hellespont. 

Xerxes had given orders to have a passage cut through 
mount Athos. This is a mountain in Macedonia, now a 
province of Turkey in Europe, which extends a great 
way into the Archipelago, in the form of a peninsula. 
It is joined to the land only by an Isthmus of about half 
a league over. It will be noticed, that the sea in this 
place was very tempestuous, and occasioned frequent 
shipwrecks. Xerxes made this his pretext for the 
orders he gave for cutting through the mountain: 
but the true reason was the vanity of signalizing himself 
by an extraordinary enterprize, and by doing a thing 
that was extremely difficult; as Tacitus says of Nero; 
erat incredibilium cupitor. Accordingly Herodotus ob- 
serves, that this undertaking was more vainglorious than 
useful, since he might with less trouble and expense have 
had his vessels carried over the Isthmus, as was the 
practice in those days. The passage he caused to be 
cut through the mountain was broad enough to let two 
galleys with three banks of oars each pass through it 
abreast. This prince, who was extravagant enough to 
believe, that all nature and the very elements were under 
his command, in consequence of that opinion, wrote a 
letter to mount Athos in the following terms: 

^' Athos, thou proud and aspiring mountain, that liftestnp 
thy head unto the heavens, I advise thee not to he so auda- 
cious as to put rocks and stones, which cannot be cut, in 
the way of my vjorkmen. If thou givest them that opposition, 
I shall cut thee entirely down, and throw thee headlong into 
the sea." 

Xerxes, as we have already related, advanced towards 
Sardis. Having left Cappadocia and passed the river 
Halys, he came to Gelene, a city of Phrygia, near which 
is the source of the Maeander. Pythius, a Lydian, had 
his residence in this city, and next to Xerxes was the 
most opulent prince of those times. He entertained 
Xerxes and his whole army with an incredible magnifi- 
cence, and made him an offer of all his wealth towards 
defraying the expenses of his expedition. Xerxes, sur- 
prised and charmed at so generous an offer, had the 



ANCIENT KINGS AND WARS. 157 

curiosity to inquire to what sum his riches amounted. 
Pjthius made answer, that having the design of offering 
them to his service he had taken an exact account of 
them, and that the silver he had by him amounted to two 
thousand talents, (which make six millions French 
money); and the gold to four millions of Darics, want- 
ing seven thousand (that is to say, to forty millions of 
livres, wanting seventy thousand, reckoning ten livres 
French money to the Daric) All this money he offered 
him, telling him, that his revenues were sufficient for the 
support of his houshold. Xerxes made him very hearty 
acknowledgments, entered into a particular friendship 
with him, and that he might not be outdone in generosity, 
instead of acceptins; his offers, obliged him to accept of 
a present of the seven thousand Darics, which were 
wanting to make up his gold a round sum of four mil- 
lions. 

From Phrygia Xerxes marched, and arrived at Sardis, 
where he spent the winter. From hence he sent heralds 
to all the cities of Greece, except Athens and Lacedae- 
mon, to require them to give him earth and water, which, 
as we have taken notice before, was the way of e:^acting 
and acknowledging submission. 

As soon as the spring of the year came on, he left Sar- 
dis, and directed his march towards the Hellespont. 
Having arrived there, he was desirous to see a naval 
engagement for his curiosity and diversion. To this end, 
a throne was erected for him upon an emmence; and in 
that situation seeing all the sea crowded with his vescels, 
and the land covered with his troops, he at first felt a 
secret joy diffuse itself through his soul, in surveying 
with his own eyes the vast extent of his power, con- 
sidering himself as the most happy of mortals: but reflect- 
ing soon afterwards, that of so many thousands, in an 
hundred years time there would not be one living soul 
remaining, his joy was turned into grief, and he could 
not forbear weeping at the uncertainty and instability of 
human things. 

Xerxes, at vast expense, had caused a bridge of boats 
to be built upon the sea, for the passage of his forces 
from Asia into Europe. The space that separates the 
two continents, formerly called the Hellespont, and now 



158 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

called the straits of the Dardanelles, or of Gallipoli, is 
seven stadias in breadth, which is near an English mile. 
A violent storm rising on a sudden, soon after broke 
down the bridge. Xerxes hearing this news on his arri- 
val, fell into a transport of passion; and in order to 
avenge himself of so cruel an affront, commanded two 
pair of chains to be thrown into the sea, as if he meant 
to shackle and confine it, and that his men should give 
it three hundred strokes of a whip, and speak to it in this 
manner: 

TIiou troublesome and unhappy element, thus does thy 
master chastise thee for having affronted him ivithout reason. 
Know that Xerxes will easily find means to pass over thy 
waters in spite of all thy billows and resistance. 

The extravagance of this prince did not stop here; but 
making the undertakers of the work answerable for 
events, which do not in the least depend upon the power 
of man, he ordered all the persons to have their heads 
struck off, that had been charged with the direction and 
management of that undertaking. 

Xerxes commanded two other bridges to be built, one 
for the army to pass over, and the other for the baggage 
and beasts of burden. He appointed workmen more able 
and expert than the former, who went about it in this 
manner. They placed three hundred and sixty vessels 
across, some of them having three banks of oars, and 
others fifty oars apiece, with their sides turned towards 
the Euxine sea; and on the side that faced the u^^gean 
sea they put three hundred and fourteen. They then 
cast large anchors into the water on both sides, in order 
to fix and secure all these vessels against the violence of 
the winds, and against the current of the water. On the 
east side they left three passages or vacant spaces be- 
tween the vessels, that there might be room for small 
boats to go and come easily, as there was occasion, to 
and from the Euxine sea. After this, upon the land on 
both sides they drove large piles into the earth, with 
huge rings fastened to them, to which were tied six vast 
cables, which went over each of the two bridges; two of 
which cables were made of hemp, and four of a sort of 
reeds, which were made use of in those times for the 
making of cordage. Those that were made of hemp 



ANCIEJST KINGS AND WARS. 169 

oiust have been of an extraordinary strength and thick- 
ness, since every cubit of those cables weighed a talent. 
The cables laid over the whole extent of the vessels 
lengthwise, reached from one side to the other of the 
sea. When this part of the work was finished quite over 
the vessels lengthwise, and over the cables we have been 
speaking of, they laid the trunks of trees, cut purposely 
for that use, and flat boats again over them, fastened and 
joined together, to serve as a kind of floor or solid bot- 
tom: all which they covered over with earth, and added 
rails or battlements on each side, that the horses and 
cattle might not be frightened with seeing the sea in 
their pass;ige. This was the form of those famous 
bridges built by Xerxes. 

When the whole work was completed, a day was ap- 
pointed for their passing over. And as soon as the first 
rays of the sun began to appear, sweet odors of all kinds 
were abundantly spread over both the bridges, and the 
way was strewed with myrtle. At the same time Xerxes 
poured f)ut libations into the sea, and turning his face 
towards the sun, the principal object of the Persian wor- 
ship, he implored the assistance of that god in the enter- 
prize he had undertaken, and desired the continuance of 
his protection till he had made the entire conquest of 
Europe, and had brought it into subjection to his power: 
this done, he threw the vessel, which he used in making 
his libations, together with a golden cup, and a Persian 
scymitar, into the sea. The army was seven days and 
seven nights in passing over these straits. 

Xerxes directing his march across the Thracian Cher- 
sonesus, arrived at Dor, a city standing at the mouth of 
the Hebrus in Thrace; where, having encamped his ar- 
my, and given orders for his fleet to follow him along the 
shore, he reviewed them both. 

He found the land army, which he had brought out of 
Asia consisted of seventeen hundred thousand foot, and 
of fourscore thousand horse, which with twenty thousand 
men that were absolutely necessary at least for conduct- 
ing and taking care of the carriages and the camels, 
made in all eiohteen hundred thousand men. When he 
had passed the Hellespont, the other nations that sub- 
mitted to him, made an addition to his army of three 



160 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

hundred thousand men; which made all his land forces 
together amount to two millions one hundred thousand 
men. 

His fleet, as it was when it set out from Asia, consist- 
ed of twelve hundred and seven vessels, or galleys, all 
of three banks of oars, and intended for fighting. Each 
vessel carried two hundred men, natives of the country 
that fitted them out, besides thirty more, that were either 
Persians or Medes, or of the Sacse: which made in all 
two hundred and seventy-seven thousand six hundred 
and ten men. The European nations augmented his 
fleet with an hundred and twenty vessels, each of which 
carried two hundred men, in all four and twenty thous- 
and: these added to the other amount make three hun- 
dred and one thousand six hundred and ten men. 

Besides this fleet, which consisted all of large vessels, 
the small galleys of thirty and fifty oars, the transport 
ships, the vessels that carried the provisions and those that 
were employed in other uses, amounted to three thou- 
sand. If we reckon but eighty men in each of these 
vessels, one with another, that made in the whole two 
hundred and forty thousand men. 

Thus when Xerxes arrived at Thermopylae, his land 
and sea-forces together made up the number of two mil- 
lions, six hundred and forty-one thousand, six hundred 
and ten men, without including servants, eunuchs, wo- 
men, sutlers, and other people of that sort, which usually 
follow an army, and of which the number at this time was 
equal to that of the forces: so that the whole number of 
souls that followed Xerxes in this expedition, amounted 
to five millions, two hundred eighty-three thousand two 
hundred and tvVenty. This is the computation which 
Herodotus makes of them, and in which Plutarch and 
Isocrates agree with him. Diodorus Siculus, Pliny, 
^ ian and others, fall very short of this number in their 
calculation: but their accounts of the matter appear to 
be less authentic than that of Herodotus, who lived in 
the same age this expedition was made, and who repeats 
the inscription engraved by the order of the Amphic- 
tyons, upon the monument of those Grecians who were 
killed at Thermopylae, which expressed that they fought 
against three millions of men. 



ANCIENT KINGS AND WARS. 161 

For the sustenance of all these persons there must be 
every day consumed, according to Herodotus' computa- 
tion, above an hundred and ten thousand three hundred 
and forty medimnis of flour, (the medimnus was a mea- 
sure, which accordinaj to Budaeus was equivalent to six 
of our bushels,) allowing for every head the quantity of 
a choeaix, which was the daily portion or allowance that 
masters gave their slaves among the Grecians. We 
have no account in history of any other army so numer- 
ous as this. And amongst all these millions of men, 
there was not one that could vie with Xerxes in point of 
beauty, either for the comeliness of his face, or the tali- 
ness of his person. 

Artemisa, queen of Halicarnassus, who from the death 
of her husb.ind governed the kingdom for her son, that 
was still a minor, brought but five vessels along with 
her; but they were the best equipped, and the lightest 
ships in the whole fleet, next to those of the Sidonians. 
This princess distinguished herself in this war by her 
singular courage, and still more by her prudence and 
conduct. Herodotus observes, that among all the com- 
manders in the army, there was not one who gave Xerxes 
so good advice and such wise counsel as this queen: but 
he was not prudent enough to apply it to his advantage. 

A council of war was also held on the side of the Per- 
sians, in order to determine whether hey should haz: rd 
a naval engagement; Xerxes himself was come to the 
fleet to take the advice of his captains and officers, who 
were all unanimous for a battle, because they knew it 
was agreeable to the king's inclina.ion. Queen Artemisa 
was the only person who opposed that resolution. She 
represented the dangerous consequences of coming to 
blows with people much more conversant and more ex- 
pert in maritime aflfairs than the Persians; alleging, 
that the loss of a battle at sea would be attended with 
the ruin ol their land army; whereas by protracting the 
warj and approaching Peloponnesus, they should create 
jealousies and divisions among their enemies, or rather 
augment the division already very great amongst them; 
that the confederates in that case would not fail to sepa- 
rate from one another, to return and defend their res- 
pective countries; and that then the king without difl^i- 



162 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

culty, and almost without striking a stroke, might make 
himself master of all Greece This wise advice was not 
followed, and a battle was resolved upon. 

Herodotus gives us also a particular account )f the 
different armor of all the nations this army consisted of. 
Besides the generals of every nation, who each of them 
commanded the troops of their respective country, the 
land army was under the command of six Persian gener- 
als; viz., Mardonius, the son of Gobryas; Tirintatech- 
mus, the son of Artabanes, and Smerdonus, son of Otanes, 
both near relations to the king; Masistus, son of Darius 
and Atossa; Gergis, son of Ariazes; and MegabysuSj 
son of Zopyrus. The ten thousand Persians, who were 
called the immortal band, were commanded by Hydarnes. 
The cavalry had its particular commanders. 

There were likewise four Persian generals who com- 
manded the fleet. The Persians had a fleet of above « 
thousand ships. 

Both sides therefore prepared themselves for the bat- 
tle. The Grecian fleet consisted of three hundred and 
eighty sail of ships, which in every thing followed the di- 
rection and orders of Themistocles. As nothing escaped 
his vigilance, and as, like an able commander, he knew 
how to improve every circumstance and incident to ad- 
vantage, before he began the engagement he waited till 
a certain wind which arose regularly every day at a cer- 
tain hour, and which was entirely contrary to the enemy, 
began to blow. As soon as this wind arose, the signal 
was given for battle. The Persians, who knew that their 
king had his eyes upon them, advanced with such courage 
and impetuosity as were capable of striking an enemy 
with terror. But the heat of the first attack quickly 
abated, when they came to be engaged. Every thing 
was contrary to, and disadvantageous for therii: the wind, 
which blew directly in their faces; the height, and the 
heaviness of their vessels, which could not move and 
turn without great difficulty, and even the number of 
their ships, which was so far from being of use to them, 
that it only served to embarrass them in a place so strait 
and narrow, as that they fought in: whereas on the side 
of the Grecians every thing was done with good order, 
and without hurry and confusion; because every thing 



ANCIENT KINGS AND WARS. 163 

was directed by one commander. The lonians, whom 
Themistocles had advised by characters engraven upon 
stones along the coasts of Euboea to remember Irom 
whom they derived their original, were the first that be- 
took themselves to flight, and were quickly followed by 
the rest of the fleet. But queen Artemisa distinguished 
herself by incredible efforts of resolution and courage, 
so that Xerxes, who saw in what manner she had be- 
haved herself, cried out, that the men had behaved like 
women in this engagement, and that the women had 
shewed the courage of men. The Athenians, being en- 
raged that a woman had dared :o appear in arms against 
them, had promised a reward often thousand drachmas 
to any one that should be able to take her alive; but she 
had the good fortune to escape their pursuit. If they 
had taken her, she could have deserved nothing from 
them but the highest commendations, and the most hon- 
orable and generous treatment. 

The manner in which that queen escaped ought not to 
be omitted. Seeing herself warmly pursued by an A- 
thenian ship, from which it seemed impossible for her to 
escape, she hung out Grecian colors, and attacked one 
of the Persian vessels, on board of which was Damasi- 
thymus, king of Calynda, with whom she had some dif- 
ference, and sunk it: this made her pursuers believe that 
her ship was one of the Grecian fleet, and give over the 
chase. [RoUin.] 



ARABIAN KINGS. 
King Philip the Great , the son of Amyntas and father 
of Alexander the Great, an Arabian. He mounted the 
throne of Macedon ; the battle of Cheronea was fought by 
him, 338 years B. C. In this battle, the liberty of all Greece 
was at stake. He subjected all the Grecian states to his 
dominion. The reign of this warlike personage first 
brought Macedon into notice. He met the Grecians at 
Cheronea, and the fortunes of that day fixed the condition 
of Greece. It was not, however, his policy to treat them 
as a conquered people. Their separate and independent 
government they retained, while he controlled all the na- 



164 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

tional movements in a general council of the states, being 
chosen generalissimo of the forces of the nation. 

Aretas, an Arabian, He was the first king of the Arabi- 
ans, who took Damascus and reigned there. His name be- 
came common to the Arabian kings both at Damascus and 
Petraea, as we learn from Josephus m many places. 

Zerah. (2 Chron. xiv., 9.) An Arabian king, who, 
with an immense army, invaded the kingdom of Judah. 



THE ETHIOPIAN KINGS OF BABYLON AND ASSYRIA, 

2247 B. C, NiMROD, the Belue of the ancients, [the 
son of Cush] was the first king of Babylon; a wise and 
great one in the earth, a mighty man before God, and 
a king of Assyria. (Gen. x. 8 9, 10.) 

NiMus, or Ninus, the son of Nimrod who succeeded 
his father and united the kingdom of Babylon and As- 
syria, by marrying Semiramis the queen. 

Semiramis, a female conqueror and able princess, 
became Queen of Nations after her husband's death. 

NiNYAs, the son of Ninus, when of age received the 
sovereignty from his mother and reigned king of As- 
syria and Babylon. 

Amraphel. (Gen. xiv. 1.) The king of Shinar, 
(Gen. xi. 2,) or Babylonia, who, confederated, with other 
kings, made war on Sodom and the other cities of the 
plain; plundering them, and making prisoners of their 
inhabitants. Among the captives was Lot, Abraham's 
nephew. 

PuL. (2 Kings XV. 19.) The first king of Assyria, 
who invaded Canaan, and by a present of one thousand 
talents of silver, [equivalent to nearly two millions of 
dollars, in our day,] was prevailed on by Menahem to 
withdraw his troops, and recognise the title of that 
wicked usurper. This is the first mention of Assyria in 
the sacred history after the days of Nimrod, and Pul 
was the first Assyrian invader of Judea. A town of this 
name is mentioned in Isa. Ixvi. 19; which is supposed, 
without authority, to be the island of Philse, in the Nile, 
not far from Syene, where are found magnificent ruins. 

Pekiah, the son of Pul, succeeded his father and was 



ANCIENT KINGS AND WARS. 165 

king of Assyria. He was slain by Pekah, one of his 
captains, who usurped his kingdom. 

TiGLATH-piLEZER,/ a king of Assyria, who was called 
upon by Ahaz, king of Judah, for help against Pekah, 
king of Israel, and Rezin, king of Damascus. Tiglath- 
pileser took many cities from the Jews, and carried the 
inhabitants into captivity. (2 Kings xv. 29; 1 Kings 
xi.) He died, B. C. 729, and was succeeded by Shal- 
maneser. 

Shalmaneser, (2 Kings xvii. 3,) king of Assyria, 
was probably the son of Tiglath-pileser. He com- 
menced his reign, B. C. 724, and reigned fourteen years. 
He found the countries of Israel and Judah entirely 
open to invasion. He conquered Israel when Hoshea 
was its king, and three years afterward, finding out a 
negotiation with Egypt to set themselves free from his 
yoke, he overrun Israel with his armies, ravaged the 
country, destroyed the fenced cities, killed many of the 
inhabitants, captured Samaria, the metropolis, and trans- 
ported Hoshea and the chief citizens to Media and other 
eastern parts of his empire. (2 Kings xvii.) Among 
these was Tobit, whose history is given in the Apocry- 
phal book which bears his name. At this time Heze- 
kiah reigned in Judah; and Sabacus in Egypt. He was 
succeeded by his son Sennacherib. Some suppose that 
Shalman (Hos. x. 14) is the same with Shalmaneser. 

Sennacherib (2 Kings xviii. 13) was king of Assyria 
when Hezekiah reigned in Judah. The kings of Judah 
having refused to pay tribute to him, he laid waste their 
country. Taking part of his army to invade Egypt, he 
left Rabshakeh in the command of the army in Judah, 
whose blasphemy and insults we read in 2 Kings xviii. 
19. Hezekiah and Isaiah resorted to prayer, and an 
angel destroyed 185,000 of the Assyrians in one night, 
the remnant of the invaders returned to Nineveh, where, 
shortly after, Sennacherib was slain by his sons, as we 
are told in 2 Kings xviii. During the reign of this mon- 
arch, Sevechus was king of Egypt, and Deioces king 
of Media. About this time, also, Romulus laid the found- 
ation of Rome. 

AsARHADDON, or Esarhaddon, (2 Kings xix. 37,) the 
third son of Sennacherib, who succeeded his father 



166 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

about the 22d year of the reign of Hezekiah, who, after 
reigning 32 years in Nineveh, obtained the kingdom of 
Babylon, (2 Kings xix. 37.) and in him the kingdoms 
of Assyria and Babylon became united; after which he 
invaded Judah, and carried Manasseh away in chains; 
which was the occasion of the repentance and reforma- 
tion of that wicked prince. (2 Kings xxi.) He reigned 
over Assyria 39 years, and over Babylon 13, and is the 
same with Sargon, (Isa. xx. 1,) and with Sardanapalus 
of profane history. He died 668 years before the birth 
of Christ. 

Nabopolasser, king of Babylon, having raised an im- 
mense army to quell a revolt of the Syrians, Phoenicians, 
&c,, he appointed his son Nebuchadnezzar, to its com- 
mand, and with it not only subdued those provinces, but 
overran Canaan, Moab, Ammon, Assyria, Egypt, &c., 
and made them tributary. He carried to Babylon, 
among other princes of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mi- 
shael, and Azariah; whom he called Belieshazzar, Shad- 
rach, Meshach, and Abednego. These, and other young 
captives, he caused to be trained up in all the learning 
of the Chaldeans, that they might serve in the court. 
(Dan. i.) He died about A. M. 3399. 

Nebuchadnezzar, (2 Kings xxiv. 1,) king of Baby- 
lon, was son and successor of Nabopolassar. He lived 
about six hundred years before the birth of Christ, and 
shared in the administration of the government about 
two years before his father's decease. He took and de- 
stroyed the city of Jerusalem, as had been foretold by 
the prophets. (2 Kings xxv.) 

Nebuzar-adan. (2 Kings xxv. 8.) General of the 
armies of Nebuchadnezzar. He conducted the siege of 
Jerusalem to a successful issue, the particulars of which 
are given in 2 Kings xxv. 8 — 21. 

Evil-Merodach. (2 Kings xxv. 27.) Son and suc- 
cessor of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who reigned 
during the exile of that monarch from human society. 
Soon after his permanent accession to the throne, he re- 
leased Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison, and treat- 
ed him with great regard through life. (Jer. lii. 31 — 34.) 
It is supposed that when Nebuchadnezzar was restored 
to his reason and his crown, he caused Evil-Merodach 



ANCIENT KINGS AND WARS. 167 - 

to be imprisoned for the abuses of which he was guilty 
while he administered the government, and that it was 
then he became acquainted with Jehoiachin as a fellow 
prisoner. He at last fell a victim to a conspiracy, formed 
among his own kindred, headed by his brother-in-law 
Neriglissar, who succeeded him. 

Belshazzar, the son of Nebuchadnezzar was king of 
Babylon, who reigned 17 years. This impious king who 
was warned of his impending fate by the miraculous 
hand-writing on the wall, (Daniel v. 5,) was killed by 
some soldiers of Darius, on the night of his guilty feast. 
(Dan. V.) His kingdom thenceforth passed over to the 
Medes and Persians. 

Jabin, king of Canaan, to whom the Israelites were 
captives twenty years. (Judges, iv. 2.) 

SisERA, a general of the Canaanites, under Jabin H. 
Jael invited him into her house, and being instigated of 
God to destroy this murderous idolater and devoted Ca- 
naanite, she drove a nail through his temples. 

Hebron, called originally Arba, or Kirjath-Arba, be- 
cause Arba, the noted g^iant, was king of it. It was 
built on a hill, not long after the flood, (Numb. xiii. 22;) 
and stooa 22 miles south of Jerusalem, Here Anak 
and his father and sons dwelt, but Caleb receiving it for 
his inheritance, expelled these giants and called it He- 
bron, after one of his sons. (Josh. xiv. 13, 14. It was 
made a city of refuge and given to the priests. David 
reigned here seven years over Judah, before he was 
crowned over all Israel. (2 Sam. ii. 11, and v. 3) Here 
Absalom first set up for king. (2 Sam. xv.) It is now 
little else than a heap of ruins, compared to its former 
extent and beauty. The number of houses is estimated 
at 400. It was visitisd by Mr. Fisk in 1824, who informs 
us that its present name is Haleel Rahman. 

Hiram. 1. (2 Sam. v. 11.) A distinguished king of 
Tyre. He was contemporary with David and Solomon, 
and on terms of the strictest political and personal friend- 
ship with them. Under his reign, the city of Tyre be- 
came celebrated for its wealth and magnificence; and 
the vast supplies he furnished to the kings of Israel show 
the greatness of his resources. (1 Kings ix. 14; x. 22.) 
2. (1 Kings vii. 13.) An eminent artificer of Tyre, 



168 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

who was employed by Solomon on some of the most 
difficult of the fixtures and furniture of the temple, for 
which Solomon gave him 20 cities in Galilee. (1 Kings 
xi. 11.) 

Hanun. (2 Sam. x. 2.) A king of the Ammonites. 
We are informed that David had received tokens of 
kindness from Nahash, the father and predecessor of 
Hanun. After the death of Nahash, David sent mes- 
sengers to Hanun to comfort him, and to express his re- 
spect for the memory of the deceased king. But Hanun 
thought, or pretended to think, that David sent them as 
spies; so he took them and shaved off one half their 
beards, and cut off their garments in the middle, and in 
this condition sent them home. David heard of their 
situation and sent to meet them, with directions to stay 
at Jericho until their beards were grown. This ungen- 
erous conduct of Hanun was the occasion of along war, 
in which multitudes of the Ammonites and their allies, 
Syrians and others, were slain. 

Agag (Num. xxiv. 7) was a king of the Amalekites. 
Some think this was the common name of their kings, as 
Pharaoh was the common name of the kings of Egypt. 
From the allusion to him in the prophetic passage above 
cited, we may suppose him to have been one of the 
greatest kings of the earth. 

Hammedatha. (Esth. iii. 1.) Haman's father. He 
is called the Agagite; and Josephus says he was a de- 
scendant from Amalek, and probably of the family or 
stock of Agag. If Agag was the common name of their 
kings, it is not improbable that an Amalekite would be 
called an Agagite, as one of the people of Agag. 

Abimelech. 1. (Gen. xx. 2, and xxvi. I.) King of 
Gerar, being deceived by Abraham, he sent and took 
Sarah, Abraham's wife, to be his wife. God warned 
him, however, in a dream, of Sarah's relation to Abra- 
ham, and thus withheld him from the commission of sin, 
because he did it in ignorance. (Gen. xx. 6.) Abime- 
lech, having rebuked Abraham, restored Sarah to him 
with many gifts, and offered him a dwelling-place in any 
part of the land. God afterwards remitted the punish- 
ment of the family of Abimelech. At a subsequent pe- 
riod, Abimelech [or his successor of the same name"^ 



ANCIENT KINGS AND WARS. 169 

was deceived, in like manner, by Isaac, respecting his 
wife Rebekah, while they dwelt in Gerar during a time 
of famine in Canaan. 

Necho, a famous king of Egypt, mentioned not only 
in Scripture, but by Herodotus. He conquered Judea 
in the days of Josiah. 

TiRHAKAH, a king of Cush; called in profane history, 
Thearchon. (2 Kings xix. 9.) 

AsTYAGEs, king of Media, and grandfather of Cyrus 
the Great. 

Oreb, a prince of Midian, defeated and slain by Josh- 
ua. (Judges vii. 25.) 

Balak, king of Moab, the son of Zippor, arose and 
warred against Israel, and promised to bestow riches 
and honors upon Balaam, if he would go and curse the 
Israelites. (Num. xxii. 5, 6.) 

Mesha, king of Moab, who rebelled against Jehoram, 
king of Israel, and who sacrificed his son to Baai. (2 
Kings iii. 5, 27.) 

Deber, king of Eglon, one of the five kings who be- 
sieged Gibeon. (Josh. x. 3.) 

HoHAM, king of Hebron, one of the kings defeated 
by Joshua at Gibeon. (Josh. x. 3.) 

Melchizedek, king of Salem, to whom Abraham paid 
tithes. (Gen. xiv. 20.) 

PiRAM, king of Jarmuth, one of the five kings who 
besieged Gibeon. (Josh. x. 3.) 

Japhia, king of Lachish, who besieged Gibeon, but 
was defeated by Joshua. (Josh. x. 3.) 

SiHON, king of the Amorites. (Num. xxi. 23, 24.) 

Nahash, king of the Ammonites. (1 Sam. xi. 1.) 



THE KINGS OF ABYSSINIA. 

The Ethiopian kings of Abyssinia anciently sat upon a 
gold throne, which is a large, convenient, oblong seat, 
like a small bedstead, covered with Persian carpets, 
damask, and cloth of gold, with steps leading up to it. 
It is still richly gilded; but the ancient magnificence is 
much abridged by the many revolutions and wars. 

Dowager became queen of Abyssinia after the death 
12 



170 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

of her husband, the king. She swayed the sceptre with 
great dignity during the minority of her son. 

A. D. 522. DouNouDs, or Phineas the son of Dow- 
ager, a Jew, the king of Abyssinia, threw Chris- 
tians into pits of fire who were unwilling to become 
Jews. 

A. D. 523. Elesboan or Caleb, a Christian who 
became king of Abyssinia, subdued the Jews and slew 
Dounouds their king. [The above is from Joseph Mil- 
ner and Bruce.] 



THE KINGS OF THE HEBREWS. 

The following is a table of the kings of the Hebrews, 
both before and after their division into the governments 
of Judah and Israel. 

Saul reigned 40 years. Solomon reigned 40 years. 
David " 40 " Rehoboam " 1 " 

Saul, (1 Sam. ix. 2,) the first king of Israel, was the 
son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, His personal 
appearance was so remarkably fine and noble, as to be 
particularly mentioned by the sacred historian. 

David, the most eminent king of Israel, and one of 
the most distinguished persons mentioned in the Old 
Testament, both for his piety, talents, dignity and suc- 
cess. He wrote nearly all the Psalms. Christ, being 
a lineal descendant, is called "the Son of David." 
When it is said of him, while yet a youth among the 
folds, that he was a man "after God's own heart," it 
means that God chose him to be king over Israel, and 
would qualify him for that purpose. Under David, the 
army of 288,000 men was divided into twelve corps, each 
of which was consequently 24,000 strong, and had its 
own general. (1 Chron. xxvii.) Under Jehoshaphat 
this was altered, and there- were five unequal corps, 
under as many commanders. (2 Chron. xvii, 14 — 
19.) ^ 

Solomon, (2 Sam. v. 14,) king of Israel, was the son 
and successor of David. His character, and the gen- 
eral condition of the country during his reign, we; .; pre- 



ANCIENT KINGS AND WARS. 171 

dieted in remarkable terms, (1 Chron. xxii. 9, 10;) and 
especially remarkable, as the prediction is supposed to 
have ultimate and more comprehensive reference to the 
Messiah and his reign. Soon after the birth of Solomon, 
the prophet Nathan was sent by divine authority to give 
him the name of Jedidiah, signifying beloved of the Lord. 
Rehoboam, (1 Kings xiv, 21,) son and successor of 
Solomon, ascended the throne of Judah at the age of 
forty-one, and reigned seventeen years. At the com- 
mencement of his career, he had an opportunity to con- 
ciliate the prejudices and discontents which had been 
excited by the closing acts of his father's reign; but re- 
jecting the wise counsel of the aged, and adopting the 
precipitate counsel of the young, he inflamed his sub- 
jects by the most insolent and tyrannical reply to their 
petitions and representations, (2 Chron. x. 1 — 14) and 
hastened a division of the kingdom. Ten of the tribes 
revolted, leaving Judah and Benjamin alone in their al- 
legiance to Rehoboam. The latter proposed at once to 
employ force for the purpose of reducing the rebels, but 
was divinely admonished to forbear. (1 Kings xii. 24.) 
Continual wars prevailed, however, between the two 
parties. (2 Chron. xii. 15.) In about three years after 
the division of the kingdom, the tribes of Judah followed 
the tribes of Israel in their idolatrous practices; and for 
this they suffered the invasion of Shishak, king of Egypt, 
who desolated the country, and threatened the utter de- 
struction of their city ; but upon their repentance, the 
scourge was stayed, though they suffered immense loss, 
and were made tributary to the invader. (2 Chron. xii. 
2 — 12. We are told that a history of Rehoboam's 
reign was written by Shemaiah and Iddo, (2 Chron xii. 
15,) but it has not been preserved. A distinguished 
modern antiquary has furnished evidence that on the re- 
mains of edifices believed to have been erected by this 
very Shishak, he has discovered several effigies of cap- 
tive kings, and among them one of Rehoboam, the son 
and successor of Solomon. . 



Abijah 


( ( 


3 


a 


Ahaz 


Asa 


(C 


41 


(( 


Hezekiah 


Jehoshaphat 


(( 


27 


iC 


Manasseh 


Jehoram 


(C 


8 


(t 


Ammon 


Ahaziah 


a 


1 


(C 


Josiah 


Athaliah 


le 


6 


cc 


Jehoiakim 


Jehoash 


cc 


40 


cc 


Jehoiakin 


Amaziah 


cc 


29 


cc 


Zedekiah 


Uzziah 


(( 


52 


cc 





172 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

THE KINGS OF JUDAH. 

Rehoboam reigned 17 years. Jotham reigned 16 years 

16 
29 
55 
2 
31 
11 

3 months 
11 years 



Rehoboam, son of Solomon by an Ammonitess, as- 
cended the throne B. C. 970, being then 41 years old; 
and reigned 17 years. By following the absurd counsel 
of his young companions, he caused the revolt of the 
ten tribes, an event productive of infinite mischief. 

Abijah, king of Judah, the son of Jeroboam, and the 
only one of his family who died a natural death. (1 
Kings xiv. 13.) 

Asa, a good king of Judah, who ascended the throne 
about A, M. 3049. Respectable chronologists reckon 
that it was in his days that the Argonauts made the 
voyage up the Hellespont. 

Jehoshaphat, (1 Kings xv. 24,) or Josaphat, (Matt, 
i. 8,) wasthe son and successor of Asa king of Judah, 
the best of the kings of Judah, ascended the throne A. 
M. 3090. He is called king of Israel (2 Chr. xxi. 2) 
possibly because his kingdom was a part of the ancient 
kingdom of Israel, but probably by mistake; Israel be- 
ing written for Judah. He was a prince of distinguished 
piety, and his reign, which lasted twenty-five years, was 
powerful and prosperous. This remarkable commenda- 
tion is given Jehoshaphat by the sacred historian, that 
the more his riches and honor increased, the more his 
heart was lifted up in the ways of the Lord. (2 Chron. 
xvii. 5, 6.) Among other evidences of his piety and be- 
nevolence, we are told that he caused the altars and 
places of idolatry to be destroyed, a knowledge of the 
law to be diffused throughout the kingdom, and the 
places of judicial and ecclesiastical authority to be filled 



ANCIENT KINGS AND WARS. 173 

by the wisest and best men of the land. (2 Chron. xvii. 
6,9; xix. 5 — 11.) His sin in forming a league with 
Ahab, contrary to the counsel of Micaiah, against Ra- 
moth-gilead, (2 Chron. xviii.) was severely censured by 
Jehu, and had nearly cost him his life. A few years 
after this, the kingdom of Judah was invaded by a con- 
federacy of Edomites, Moabites and others. They col- 
lected their forces at Engedi, and threatened to over- 
throw the kingdom. Jehoshaphat proclaimed a fast; and 
the people came from all parts of the kingdom, men, 
women, and children, up to Jerusalem; and being as- 
sembled in one place, the king himself made supplica- 
tion to God for help in their extremity. 

Jehoram, or Joram, (2 Kings viii. 16,21,) was the 
son and successor of Jehoshaphat king of Judah. When 
he was thirty-two years of age he was associated with 
his father in the government of the kingdom. At the 
end of four years, his father died, and he became sole 
king. One of the first acts of his government was to 
put to death his six brothers and several of the chief 
men of the kingdom. (2 Chron. xxi. 4.) To punish 
him for this and other abominations of his reign, the 
Edomites, who had long been subject to the throne of 
Judah, revolted, and secured their independence. One 
of his own cities also revolted, and about the same time 
he received a writing from Elijah, or, as some suppose, 
Elisha, admonishing him. 

Ahaziah. (2 Kings viii. 25.) Called also Azariah, 
was a son of Jehoram and Athaliah, and at the age of 
twenty-two succeeded his father as king of Judah; 
though in 2 Chron. xxii. 2, it is said he was forty-two 
years old when he began to reign. 

Joram the king of Israel was wounded in a battle 
with the king of Syria at Ramoth-gilead, and was car- 
ried to Jezreel to be healed. There Ahaziah visited 
him, and Jehu, who was left to sustain the siege, [and 
who was in the mean time anointed king over Israel,] 
came down to Jezreel to execute the judgment of the 
Lord upon Joram the son of Ahab, and the representa- 
tive of the house of Ahab. As soon as his approach 
was announced by the watchman, Joram and Ahaziah 
went out, each in his chariot, to meet him. And they 



J 74 LIGHT AND fRUTH. 

met in the portion of Naboth, with which one of Ahab's 
daring crimes was so closely associated. Jehu reminded 
Joraai of the iniquities of his house, and he, suspecting 
treachery, warned Ahaziah to flee. Jehu then smote 
Joram through the heart with an arrow. He pursued 
and slew Ahaziah also, though he had strength to reach 
Megiddo, where he died, and was carried thence to Je- 
rusalem, and buried, from respect to the memory of Je- 
hoshdphat his ancestor. In 2 Chron. xxii., the circum- 
stances of the death of Ahaziah are stated differently, 
but the variation is not substantial, and therefore re- 
quires no particular notice. Athaliah, the mother of 
Ahaziah, usurped the kingdom after his death: she was 
a cruel and ambitious woman, and endeavored to destroy 
all the children of the royal house of Judah. Jehoahash, 
daughter of the late king, and wife of Jehoiada the 
priest, took Joash, then an infant, and concealed him 
from the knowledge of Athaliah, who "vvas slain, after a 
cruel usurpation of seven years. 

Jehoiachin, (2 Kings xxiv. 8,) or Jeconias, (Matt. i. 
12,) son and successor of Jehoiakim king of Judah. It 
is supposed by some that when he was only eight years 
old he was associated with his father in the administra- 
tion of the government. This supposition is adopted in 
order to reconcile the apparent inconsistency of 2 Kings 
xxiv. 8; and 2 Chron. xxxvi. 9; but it seems hardly 
necessary to resort to such meass to account for a very 
natural error or omission of a transcriber, especia!lly in 
an immaterial chronological fact of such remote date. 
The reign of Jehoiachin terminated at the end of three 
months, at which time, the city of Jerusalem was be- 
sieged by Nebuchadnezzar. 

Amaziah. (2 Kings xiv. 1 — 20,) the eighth king of 
Judah, the son and successor of Uzziah, or Azariah, 
king of Judah. He actually reigned foj*ty-one years, 
being associated with his father for twenty-five years be- 
fore his death. His sole administration of the govern- 
ment M'as only for sixteen years. His example was holy; 
his reign was peaceful and prosperous, and of course 
beneficial to the kingdom. His character is peculiarly 
described. He did that which was right in the sight of 
the Lord, but not with a perfect heart. (2 Chron. xxv. 
2; 2 Kings xiv. 3.) 



ANCIENT KINGS AND WARS. 175 

UzziAH, king of Judah, who was struck with a lepro- 
sy for offering to burn incense in the temple. 

JoTHAM, a king of Judah, successor to Uzziah. He 
reigned 16 years, during the latter part of which, Rome 
was founded. 

Ahaz (2 Chron. xxviii. 1) was the son of Jotham, 
and at the age of twenty succeeded him as king of Ju- 
dah. Ahaz gave himself up to gross idolatry, and even 
sacrificed his own children to the gods of the heathen. 
This course of wickedness brought upon him, and upon 
his kingdom, severe judgments. Thej suffered under a 
succession of disastrous wars, and their allies often 
proved unfaithful, and involved them in great distress. 
Ahaz, at last, abandoned himself to the most desperate 
iniquity, and the kingdom of Judah was brought low, and 
made waste, because of his great sin. Early in his 
reign [probably the second year,] the kings of Syria and 
Israel, who, just at the close of Jotham's reign and life, 
had confederated for the destruction of Judah, and ac- 
tually invaded the kingdom with a powerful and victori- 
ous army, were about to lay siege to Jerusalem. 

Hezekiah, a pious prince of Judah, who by prayer 
and intercession had his life prolonged, and as a sign of 
which the sun went back ten degrees. (2 Kings xx. 6, 
and 11.) 

Manasseh, an impious king of Judah, who upon the 
death of his father Hezekiah, rebuilt the altars of Baal, 
and re-established idolatry among the Jews. (2 Chron. 
xxxiii. 3.) 

Amon. (2 Kings xxi. 18 — 26.) The fourteenth 
king of Judah. He wa-s killed in his palace by his own 
servants. (2 Kings xxi. 23.) 

JosiAH, (2 Kings xxi. 24,) the son and successor of 
Amon king of Judah, began to reign when he was but 
eight years of age, and was remarkable for his integri- 
ty and piety. He gradually abolished the idolatrous 
customs of his predecessors, and, in the eighteenth 
year of his reign, began a thorough repair of the temple. 
In the progress of this work, Hilkiah the high-priest, 
found a complete copy of the law of Moses; a rare 
treasure in those days of degeneracy and corruption, 
when God and his institutions were forsaken and con- 



176 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

temned on every side. Josiah himself was but imper- 
fectly acquainted with its contents until they were read 
to him by one of his officers; and then he was over- 
whelmed with grief to find how far they and their fathers 
had departed from the right way. He, however, hum- 
bled himself before God, and received the most precious 
promises of the divine favor. (2 Chron. xxxiv. 26 — 28.) 
He then assembled the people, and published the law in 
their hearing; and they all united with the king in a 
solemn vow of obedience. After this, he utterly de- 
stroyed every vestige of idolatry, both images and tem- 
ples, and then, by divine command, caused the feast of 
the passover to be celebrated with unusual solemnity. 
(2 Chr. XXXV. 3—18.) 

Jehoiakim. (2 Kings xxiii. 36.) The eldest son of 
Josiah, and the brother and successor of Jehoaz king of 
Judah. His original name was Eliakim; but it was 
changed by order of the king of Egypt, (2 Kings xxiii. 
34,) who put him on the throne. The iniquity of his 
reign is strongly depicted by the historian and prophet, 
(2 Kings xxiv. 4; 2 Chron. xxxvi. 8; Jer. xs:ii., xxvi., 
xxxvi. ;) and his end, as Jewish historians inform us, was 
in strict accordance with the prediction concerning him. 
For the first four years of his reign, Jehoiakim was sub- 
ject to the king of Egypt, and paid an enormous tribute. 
Then he became tributary for three years to Nebuchad- 
nezzar king of Babylon, who at first bound him with 
chains to carry him to Babylon, but afterwards set him 
at liberty, and left him at Jerusalem to reign as a tribu- 
tary prince. The whole time of his reign was eleven 
years. 

Jehoiakin was king of Jiidah at the time Nebuchad- 
nezzar took the city, and was, with his family and most 
of his people, carried captive to Babylon. (2 Kings 
xxiv. 14, 15. 

Zedekiah, the son of Josiah. When Nebuchadnez- 
zar carried Jehoiachin, king of Judah, prisoner to Baby- 
lon, he made M;ittaniah king in his stead after he had 
caused him to swear to be his tributary, and changed his 
name to Zedekiah. He began to reign when he was 
twenty-one years of age, and reigned eleven years. His 
career was marked by crime. He revolted, but was sub- 



ANCIENT KINGS AND WARS. 



177 



dued and carried prisoner to Nebuchadnezzar, who 
caused his children to be murdered before his face, and 
then his eyes to be plucked out; after which he loaded 
him with chains, and sent him to Babylon, where he 
died. (Jer. xxi. xxvii.) 



' 


' THE KINGS OF ISRAEL. 




Jeroboam reigne 


;d 22 years. 


Jehoahaz reigne 


id 17 years. 


Nadab 




2 " 


Jehoash " 


41 


Baasha 




24 " 


Jeroboam II. " 


41 


Elah 




2 '' 


Zechariah " 


6 months 


Zimri 




7 days. 


Shallum 


1 " 


Omri 




6 years. 


Menahim " 


10 years. 


Ahab 




22 " 


Pekiah 


2 


Ahaziah 




1 " 


Pekah 


20 " 


Joram 




12 " 


Hosea carried 


captive. 


Jehu 




28 '' 







Jeroboam. The first king of Israel, one of the most 
wicked rulers that ever lived. He was a distinguished 
man under Solomon, and was chosen head of the ten 
tribes which revolted after Solomon's death, A. M. 3029. 
He reigned in horrible wickedness 22 years. (1 Kings 
xi., xii., XV.) 

^ Nadab, (1 Kings xv. 25,) son and successor of Jero- 
boam, king of Israel, reigned two years. His reign was 
wicked and corrupt, and he was finally assassinated 
while prosecuting the siege of Gibbethon, a Philistine 
city. 

Baasha (1 Kings xv. 16) was the son of Abijah, and 
commander-in-chief of a portion of the army of Israel. 
When Nadab, king of Israel was besieging Gibbethon, 
a city of the Philistines, Baasha formed a conspiracy 
against him and murdered him, and immediately usurped 
the throne, which he held for twenty-four years. To 
secure himself against any disturbance from the family 
of Jeroboam, (the rightful heirs of the throne,) he caused 
them all to be put to death. By this cruel act he unde- 
signedly fulfilled the prophecy respecting Jeroboam's 
posterity. (1 Kings xiv. 10.) 



178 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

Baasha followed in the wicked ways of Jeroboam, and 
was visited with the most fearful judgments of God. The 
warning he received of the consequences of his conduct 
(1 Kings xvi. 1 — 9) did not induce him to forsake his evil 
course. His reign was filled with war and treachery, 
and his family and relatives were cut off, according to 
the prediction. (1 Kings xvi. 9. 11.) 

Elah. (1 Kings xvi 6.) Son and successor of Baasha 
king of Israel. As he was revelling at a friend's house, 
was assassinated by Zimri, one of the officers of his ar- 
my. He reigned only two years. 

Zimri, who slew Elah, king of Israel, and who, when 
he found that the people had made Omri king, set fire to 
the palace, and perished in the flames. 

Omri. (1 Kings xvi. 16.) An officer in the army of 
Israel. He was engaged in the siege of Gibbethon, a 
Philistine city, when he received intelligence that Zimri, 
another officer of the army, had assassinated the king, 
and had usurped the throne. The army, by general ac- 
clamation, made Omri king, and raising the siege of 
Gibbethon, they forthwith marched to Tirzah, where 
Zimri resided, and captured it. Zimri set fire to the 
house he occupied, and was consumed. The Israelites 
were then divided into two parties; but, after a short 
struggle, Omri prevailed, and took the throne, which he 
polluted and disgraced through a reign of twelve years. 
Omri built Samaria, which thereafter became the capital 
of the ten tribes. 

Ahab. (1 Kings xvi. 29.) The son of Omri, and his 
successor as king of Israel. He reigned twenty-two 
years, and the seat of his kingdorii was at Samaria. He 
married Jezebel, a Zidonian woman of proverbially wick- 
ed character. She was a gross idolater, and Ahab fol- 
lowed her in all her idolatrous practices; became at once 
a worshipper of Baal, and even made a grove and built 
an altar for this abominable service. At a very early 
period of his history, the sacred historian says of him, 
that he did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to 
anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him. 

Ahaziah, (1 Kings xxii. 40,) was the son and succes- 
sor of Ahab king of Israel. So wicked was he, that when 
Jehoshaphat king of Judea had joined with him to build 



ANCIENT KINGS AND WARS. 179 

a fleet at Ezion-geber for the Tarshish trade, God sent 
his prophet to tell him, that because of his alliance with 
Ahaziah, even in this secular enterprise, his fleet should 
be destroyed; and the ships were accordingly shattered 
to pieces by the winds. 

JoRAM, (2 Kings iii. 16,) or Jehoram, (2 Kings iii 1,) 
successor to Ahaziah, king of Israel, was the second son 
of Ahab. Though he put away the worship of Baal, he 
was still a very wicked king. (2 Kings iii. 3.) After the 
death of Ahab, the king of Moab refused to pay the an- 
nual tribute to the king of Israel, which he had been ac- 
customed to pay; and Joram determined for this cause 
to wage war with him. He secured the aid of Jehosha- 
phat king of Judah, and they went up through Edom, 
whose king also joined the expedition. After seven days 
march, they found themselves likely to be cut off by a 
severe drought. In this extremity, they besought the 
help of J^lisha the prophet, who had followed the army, 
(probably under a divine influence.) Elisha at first re- 
ferred him to the gods of Ahab, his father, and his moth- 
er, Jezebel, for succor; but finally, for the sake of Je- 
hoshaphat, he consented to interpose for their relief, and 
received a command from God to make the valley full of 
ditches. This was done, and then, without wind or rain, 
at a particular hour of the next morning, water came, 
not from the springs, into which they dug, but from 
Edom, and supplied the army and the country with an 
abundance of water. (2 Kings iii. 20. Comp. Ex. xvii. 
5. 6.) 

Jehu, (2 Kings ix. 2.) The son of Nimshi, and grand- 
son of Jehoshaphat, was selected by God to reign over 
Israel, and to be the instrument of executing his judg- 
ments on the house of Ahab. (1 Kings xix. 17. 2 Kings 
ix. 1 — 10.) In executing this commission, he com- 
menced wi*h the reigning king, Joram, who was then ly- 
ing ill at Jezreel. Having been proclaimed king by a 
few adherents who were with him at Ramoth-gilead, 
he proceeded towards Jezreel. Upon his approach with- 
in sight of that place, Joram despatched two or three 
messengers to ascertain his design; and finding they did 
not return, he went out himself to meet him. It hap- 
pened that they met on the ground of Naboth the Jez- 



180 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

reelite, (1 Kings xxi. 1 — 24;) and Jehu at once charged 
him with his gross iniquities, and immediately shot him 
dead in his chariot. (Comp. 1 Kings xxi. 19, and 2 
Kings ix. 25.) 

Jehoahaz succeeded Jehu, his father, and reigned 
twenty-eight years in Israel, and did not depart from the 
sins of his predecessors, for which his kingdom was de- 
livered into the hands of Hazael king of Syria, to whom 
he became tributary; he reigned seventeen years. 

JoASH succeeded Jehoahaz, his father, about 835 years 
B. C, and reigned 16 years over Israel; he did evil in 
the sight of the Lord. During his reign the prophet 
Elisha died. 

Jeroboam II., the 13th king of Israel, succeeded his 
father, Joash, A. M. 3179, and reigned 41 years. He 
was ^ very wicked prince, but raised his kingdom to great 
outward prosperity. (2 Kings xiv. xv.) 

Zechariah, or Zachariah, the son of Rehoboam, 
reigned but six months over Israel. (2 Kings xv.) 

Manahem, the General of Shallum, in his turn filled 
the throne; he extorted a thousand talents of silver from 
the people to buy off Pekah, king of Assyria. 

Pekah, next reigned over Israel. During his reign 
Tiglath Pileser destroyed many of the cities belonging 
to the Jews, and carried the people captive into Assyria. 

HosEA, the same with Joshua. (Deut. xxxii. 44.) The 
son of Elah, and the last of the kings of Israel, (2 Kings 
XV. 30.) In. the ninth year of his reign, the Assyrian 
king, provoked by an attempt which Hosea made to form 
an alliance with Egypt, and so throw off the Assyrian 
yoke, marched against Samaria, and after a siege of 
three years, took it, and carried the people away into 
Assyria. (2 Kings xvii. 1 — 6. Hos. xiii. 16. Mic. 1. 6.) 



THE GOVERNORS OF JUDEA. 

After Judea became a province of the Roman empire, 
governors or procurators were appointed and sent thither 
from Rome. This was the office held by Pontius Pilate 
at the time of our Savior's crucifixion. Sometimes the 
word governor is used as a general title for ruler. 



ANCIENT KINGS AND WARS. 181 

Herod, (Matt. ii. 1,) surnamed the Great, was the 
ancestor of several of the same name, mentioned in the 
New Testament. He was governor of Judea (then a 
Roman province) at the time of our Savior's birth. 
Though he was called king, he was subject to the Roman 
emperor, and was distinguished for his savage cruelty. 

Archelaus. (Matt. ii. 22.) A son of Herod the Great. 
On the decease of his father, the same year that our Sa- 
vior was born, Archelaus succeeded to the government 
of Judea, and reigned there when Joseph and Mary, 
with the infant Jesus, were returning from Egypt, whither 
they had gone to escape the fury of Herod. Archelaus, 
however, was much like his father in the malignity of his 
temper, and they were therefore still afraid to return. 

Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea, was 
in office 10 years. The character of Pilate was remark- 
able. When Jesus was arraigned before him, he was 
not only anxious to avoid trying him, (Luke xxiii. 4. 7,) 
but he once and again, in the most solemn and impres- 
sive manner, even in presence of his malicious and blood- 
thirsty persecutors, declared his conviction of his perfect 
innocence. (Luke xxiii. 1. 14. John xix. 6.) 

By his covetous and cruel administration he caused 
himself to be exceedingly hated, both by the Jews and 
Samaritans. At length, three years after the death of 
Christ, complaints against him reached the court of the 
Emperor Caligula, and he was recalled to Rome, tried, 
and banished to Gaul. Afterwards, through poverty and 
shame, he committed suicide. 

Agrippa. (Acts xxv. 13.) Son and successor of Herod 
the persecutor. (Acts xii. 1.) Porcius Festus, the suc- 
cessor of Felix in the government of Judea, came to 
Csesarea; and while there, Agrippa (who was governor 
or king of several of the eastern provinces of the Roman 
empire) came, with his sister Bernice or Berenice, to pay 
him a visit of congratulation upon his accession to office. 
The conversation between them turning upon Paul, who 
was then in confinement at Csesarea, and whose remark- 
able story must have been very notorious, Festus stated 
the whole. 

Felix was deputy-governor of Judea. He enticed 
Drusilla to divorce Azizus, king of Emesa, and then 



182 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

took her as his own wife. He defeated about 4000 out- 
laws, headed by an Egyptian impostor, who had posted 
themselves in the mount of Olives. (Acts xxi. 38.) Du- 
ring the administration of Felix, Judea was in a constant 
turmoil, being infested with robbers and assassins, and 
overrun with impostors pretending to be the Messiah. It 
was this prince that trembled at the words of Paul, (xActs 
xxiv. 25.) He was a bad man, and governed with great 
injustice and cruelty. In A. D. 60, he was recalled to 
Rome, and Festus was sent in his room. The Jews fol- 
lowed him, and complained to the government of his ex- 
tortion and violence. He would have been punished with 
death, had not his brother Pallas, by his credit at court, 
preserved his life. (Acts xxiii. and xxiv.) 

Festus succeeded Felix in the government of Judea. 
He sent Paul, whom Felix had left bound at Caesarea, 
to Rome, to be tried by Csesar, to whom he appealed. 
(Acts xxv.) Festus was very diligent in his efforts to put 
an end to the disturbances and robberies which had be- 
come so frequent in Judea, in the reign of Felix, but 
took no trouble to investigate the claims of Christianity; 
and when Paul spoke of its mysteries, he thought much 
learning had made him mad. (Acts xxvi.) He died 
about A. D. 62. 



THE KINGS OF SYRIA. 

The Syrian Kings numbered twenty-seven. Six, usual- 
ly called Seleucides, from Seleuciis, who reigned the first in 
Syria; and thirteen who are called Antiochus ; but they 
are all distinguished by different surnames. Others of tbem 
assume different names. The last was called Antiochus, 
surname Epiphanes, Asiaticus and Commagenes. In his 
reign, the celebrated Pompey, an Ethiopian, a Roman 
General, reduced Syria into a Roman province, after it 
* had been governed by kings for the space of two hundred 
and fifty years, according to Eusebius. 

The Kings and their Reign in Syria. 
Seleucus Nicanor, reigned 20 years. 
Antiochus Soter, reigned 19 years. 
Antiochus Theos, reigned 15 years. 



ANCIENT KINGS AND WARS. 183 

Seleucus Callinicus, reigned 20 years. 
Seleucus Ceraunus, reigned 2 years. 
Antiochus the Great, reigned 36 years. 
Seleucus Philopator, reigned 12 years. 
Antiochus Epiphanes, reigned 11 years. 

Antiochus Epiphanes succeeded Seleucus in the kingdom 
of Syria, and reigned eleven years and some months. 

Alexander Balas, the son of king Antiochus Epiphanes, 
enters with an army into Syria; the garrison of Ptolemais 
set open their gates to him, by reason of their hatred to 
king Demetrius, who prepares himself for war. 

Demetrius desireth an alliance with Jonathan, who 
makes use of this occasion to repair the fortifications of 
Jerusalem. 

Alexander B^dlas is no less careful to obtain the friend- 
ship of Jonathan; and, to oblige him, confers on him the 
high priesthood, 

Jonathan puts on the holy vestment in the seventh month 
of the 160th year of the kingdom of the Grecians, at the 
feast of tabernacles. He was the first high priest of the 
Hasmonean family. 

Demetrius and Alexander come to a battle, and Deme- 
trius is slain. 

Alexander Balas finding himself in the peaceable pos- 
session of the kingdom of Syria, espouseth Cleopatra, the 
daughter of Ptolemy Philometor king of Egypt. Alexan- 
der highly honors Jonathan the high priest at his nuptials. 

Demetrius Nicanor, eldest son of Demetrius Soter, en- 
ters into Cilicia with an army. King Alexander B;das 
gives the command of Syria to ApoUonius, who sets upon 
Jonathan the high priest; Jonathan defeats him, and takes 
Joppa and Azotus, and burns the temple of Dagon. 

Ptolemy Philometor king of Egypt comes to the relief 
of king Alexander, his son-in-law. Alexander ungrateful- 
ly sets Ammonius to lie in ambush to kill him. The 
treachery being discovered, Ptolemy takes away his daugh- 
ter from Alexander, and marries her to Demetrius. Al- 
exander having been driven from Antioch, the inhabitants 
of that place make offer of the kingdom to Ptolemy, but 
he refuseth it, and persuadeth them to accept of Demetrius 
for their king. 

Alexander returns with a great army. Ptolemy and De- 



184 LIOIIT AND TRUTH. 

metrius unite tlicir forces, and overcome him in a pitched 
batth:' ; but Ptolemy dies of the wounds which he received, 
aflor he had seen the head of Alexander sent to him by 
Zabdiel an Arabian prince. Jonathan besiecreth the cita- 
del at Jerusalem, held by a garrison of Macedonians. 
Complaint hereof beinor made to Demetrius, Jonathan ap- 
peaseth him by presents, and obtaineth new favors for the 
Jews. Demetrius incurreth the hatred of his soldiers, by 
abridtring their j)ay in time of peace. 

Tryphon, with some soldiers that revolted from Deme- 
trius, undertakes to establish Antiochus, the son of Alex- 
ander Balas, in the kiui^jdom of Syria. 

Demetrius is vanquished by young Antiochus and made 
to flee into Seleucia. Great honors are, by Antiochus, 
conferred on Jonathan, who assists him against Demetrius. 
llADAoi-y/Ku, ('2 Sam. viii. Ji,) or lladarezer, ('^ Sam. x. 
16.) A Syrian king, with whom David had several con- 
tests. In one of them he took twenty thousand footmen 
and seven hundred horsemen of Iladade-zer's army prison- 
ers, besides chariots of war. On another occasion, when 
Hadadezer had formed an alliance with a neiorhboring 
province, David again defeated liim, and took twenty-two 
thousand of his army prisoners. Among the spoils were 
gold shields, and a great quantity of brass or copper. 

Some years afterwards, Hadadezer and three other Syr- 
ian princes formed an alliance to assist the Amuionites 
against David; but the whole Syrian army w^as defeated on 
the east bank of the Jordan, by the Israelites, under the 
command of Joab. Between forty and fifty thousand of the 
enemy were killed, including their principal general ; and 
they thenceforth became tributary to David. ( 1 Chron. xix.) 
Benuaoad, I. (I Kings xv. 18.) King of Syria, in the 
time of Asa, king of Judah, with whom he formed an alli- 
ance against Baasha, king of Israel. Perhaps he was the 
same with Hadad, the Edomite, who rebelled against Sol- 
omon. (1 Kings xi. 25.) 

Benhadad. (1 Kings xx. 1.) King of Syria, and a 
son of the preceding, lie was a proud, boasting and li- 
centious man, and seemed to be hardened against all re- 
bukes. (1 Kings XX. 10 — 1'^, 1(5 He declared war against 
Jehoram, king of Israel. 

Aretas. (3 Cor. xi. 32.) The king of Syria, at the 



ANCIENT KINGS AND WARS. 185 

time the governor of Damascus attempted to apprehend 
Paul. (Acts ix. 24, 25. 

Benhadad, king of Syria, who besieged Samaria. 
(1 Kings XX.) 

Hazael was anointed king of Syria by Elijah, the 
prophet of God. (1 Kings xix. 15. 2 Kings viii. 

Resin, king of Syria. (Isa vii. 5, 1. 



THE GOVERNORS OF SYRIA. 

Antigonus, governor of Syria, who treated the Jews 
with great severity. 

Cyrenius, governor of Syria. He first made it a law 
that all the people in his provinces should be taxed. 

CyESAR Augustus, governor of Syria, sent out a decree 
and taxed all the people. 



THE KINGS OF ROME. 

Romulus, the first king of Rome began to reign 745 
years B. C, and reigned more than thirty years. 

NuMA PoMPiLius was elected the second king 714 
years before Christ: he reigned forty-three years. 
Numa was of the Sabine nation. This nation was 
the most formidable enemy of the early Romans; but 
by a wise policy were conciliated; and became united 
with the Romans. Numa's disposition was pious and 
pacific; and he endeavored to impart the same character 
to his people. [The Sabeans or Sabines were the de- 
scendants of Cush, an Ethiopian.] 

TuLLus HosTiLius, the third king, ascended the 
throne in 670 B. C. — he reigned thirty years. 

Ancus Marcius, grandson of Numa, was elected the 
fourth king of Rome, in 637 B. C. He inherited the 
piety and virtue of his ancestor, and reigned gloriously 
twenty-four years. 

Tarquinius Priscus, son of a former citizen of Cor- 
inth, popular from his wealth and liberality, was elected^ 
the fifth king, 614 B. C. He enlarged the senate, and 
reigned 38 years. 
13 



186 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

Servius Tullius, an Ethiopian and once a slave, who 
had married the daughter of Tarquinius, secured, by his 
own address, and the intri2;ues of his mother-in-law, his 
election to the vacant throne in 576 B. C. His popular- 
ity originated from his acts of munificence; discharging 
the debts of the poor; dividing his patrimonial lands 
among the citizens; improving the city with useful edifi- 
ces, and extending its boundaries. He reigned 44 years. 

Tarquinius Superbus, was the seventh son, and last 
king of Rome. He married Tullia, the daughter of 
Servius, and thus secured his elevation to the throne. 
His disposition was haughty, and produced him the ap- 
pellation of Superbus [proud,] and his government, sys- 
tematical tyranny. In him the monarchical government 
came to an end; — the Romans thenceforward adopting 
a republican form of government, under Consuls an- 
nually elected. 

The republican form of government continued till 31 
years B. C. when Octavius, or Csesar Augustus, grand- 
nephew of Julius Csesar became sole master of the Ro- 
man Empire. (Luke ii. 1.) 

Jesus, the Savior of mankind was born four years be- 
fore the commencement of the vulgar era. 

A. D. 5. Titus Livius historian died. 

Tiberius Cesar (Luke iii. 1) banished the Jews from 
Rome. He was the son-in-law and successor of Au- 
gustus, and though with some apparent virtues, was one 
of the most infamous tyrants that ever scourged the em- 
pire of Rome. He began his reign A. D. 14, reigned 
during the eventful period of the succeeding twenty- 
three years, and v/as finally murdered by suffocation 
with pillows. 

A. D. 37. Caligula, Emperor of Rome. 

A. D. 54. Nero, an Ethiopian, Emperor of Rome. 
A. D. 59, he put his mother, Agrippina, to death. And 
A. D. 64, raised the first persecution against the Chris- 
tians — in which St. Paul was put to death. Seneca, 
the celebrated stoic philosopher was put to death; and 
Rome burnt by Nero. 

A. D. 70. Vespasian, Emperor. 

A. D. 78. A great pestilence in Rome, — 10,000 
dying in one day. 



ANCIENT KINGS AND WARS. 187 

A. D. 79. Titus, Emperor of Rome. Jerusalem 
taken and destroyed by Titus, Vespasian's son. Nearly 
1,500,000 Jews perished on this occasion. 

A. D. 81. Domitian, Rome's Emperor. He banished 
John the evangelist to the island of Patmos. 

A. D. 98. Trajan, the Roman Emperor, forbid the 
Christian assemblies. 

Second Century, 

A. D. 118. Adrian, Roman Emperor, renewed, but 
afterward suspended the persecution of the Christians. 

A. D. 138. Antoninus Pius, Emperor of Rome. 

A. D. 161. Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, Emperor, 
during whose reign the Christians suffered great perse- 
cution. 

A. D. 195. Severus was the Roman Emperor. 

Third Century. 

A. D. 211. Caracalla and Geta, Roman Emperors. 
Caracalla murders Geta. 

A. D. 222. Alexander Severus, Emperor of Rome. 

A. D. 235. Maximinus assassinates Severus; and is 
proclaimed Emperor. 

A. D. 238. Gordian, Emperor of Rome. 

A. D. 249. Decius, Rome's Emperor. 

A. D. 251, Gallus, the Roman Emperor, persecutes 
the Christians. 

A. D. 254. Valerianus, Emperor. 

A. D. 268. Claudius, Emperor of Rome. 

Fourth Century. 
A. D. 306. Constantine, the Great, Emperor of 
Rome. He becomes a Christian; and stops the perse- 
cution of Christianity. 

The toleration of Christianity through the Roman 
Empire took place under Constantine the Great, about 
606 years A. C. Constantine fought under the banner 
of the cross against his enemies, and was successful. 
Constantine removed the seat of the Roman Empire to • 
Constantinople about 329 years A. C. 

Constantine ordered the heathen god Serapis, and a 
pillar on which are marked the degrees of the Nile, in- 
dicating the rise of the water, to be removed into the 
church of Alexandria in Africa. 



W8 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

A. D. 361. Julian, Emperor of Rome. 

A. D. 375. Va,lens was Roman Emperor. 

A. D. 381. Theodosius, the Great, was Emperor of 
the East. 

Fifth Century. 

A. D. 408. Theodosius 2d, Emperor of the East. 



THE LIST OF JUDGES AND TERM OF SERVICE, 
ABOUT 1400 B. C — 456 YEARS. 

JuDOES. Officers of law and justice. The Jews had 
three courts. A court of three or seven petty judges, 
who decided small cases. 
Othniel judged Israel forty years. 

Oppression of Moab, eighteen years. 
Ehud, eighty years. 

Oppression of Philistia, one year. 
Shamgar, one year. 

Oppression of Canaan, twenty years. 
Deborah and Barak, forty years. 

Oppression of Midian, seven years. 
Gideon, forty years. 
Abimelech, three years. 
Tola, twenty-three years. 
Jair, twenty-two years. 

Oppression of Ammon, eighteen years. 
Jephthah, six years. 
Ibzan, seven years. 
Elon, ten years. 
Abdon, eight years. 

Oppression of Philistia, Samson last ten, forty years. 
Eli, forty years. 

Oppression of Philistia, twenty years. 
Samuel, twelve years. 

Judges. (Acts xiii. 20.) This was the title of a class 
of magistrates among the Israelites. They were appointed 
originally by Moses, at the suggestion of Jethro, an Ethio- 
pian, prince of Midian, Moses' father-in-law, (Exodus 
xviii, 1,) to relieve him of a part of the duties of the 
chief magistracy. At an early period after they left Egypt, 
a rank of judges was established, the lowest of which were 



ANCIENT KINGS AND WARS. 189 

appointed over ten men, and probably amounted to 60,000 ; 
then those of fifty, one hundred, and one thousand men ; 
the final jurisdiction, in all cases of difficulty, being re- 
served to Moses himself. (Ex. xviii, 21 — 26.) After they 
became settled in their respective districts of the prom- 
ised land, this judiciary system underwent considerable 
modification. Judges were then appointed for the cities or 
chief towns. 

The book of Judges forms an important part in the his- 
tory of Israel ; and independently of the ample proofs of 
its authenticity found in its style, and in its being quoted 
by both Old and New Testament writers, the transactions 
it records are confirmed by traditions current among the 
heathen. Thus we find the memorial of Gideon's transac- 
tions preserved by Sanchoniatho. 



THE JUDGES OF ISRAEL. 

Othniel was raised up to deliver the Israelites from the 
hands of Chushan-Ethiopians. 

Ehud, who delivered the children of Israel from the Mo- 
abites. 

Deborah. 1. (Judg. iv. 4.) A woman of eminent wis- 
dom and holiness, (called a prophetess,) and a judge of the 
people of Israel. She was the wife of Lapidoth, (though 
some think the passage should read, a woman of Lapidoth,) 
and had her judgment-seat under a palm tree, which is 
hence called by her name. (Judg. iv. 5.) Israel was suf- 
fering at that time a most oppressive bondage, under Jabin, 
a Canaanitish king, to which they were doomed in conse- 
quence of their sin. Deborah, by divine direction, called 
upon Barak, who had probably signalized himself in some 
way, and commanded him, as from God, to station himself 
upon mount Tabor, with a prescribed number of men, and 
she would see to it that Sisera, the commander of the ty- 
rant's army, should fall into his power. 

Barak, (Judg. iv. 6,) was the son of Abinoam, and was 
distinguished for his share in the conquest of Sisera and 
the deliverance of Israel from long and severe oppression. 
A history of tiie transaction, and a copy of their sublime 
and triumphal song, are given in Judg. iv. and v. 



190 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

OiDEON. (Judg. vi. 11.) The son of Joash the Abi- 
ezrite, and the same with Jerubbaal the seventh judge of 
Israel, a mighty man of valor, and peculiarly favored with 
the presence of the Lord. He was a very humble man; 
and when the angel proposed to him to go in the strength 
of the Lord to save Israel from the hands of the Midian- 
ites, he replied, *' Behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, 
and I am the least of my father's house." The Lord was 
pleased to favor Gideon with most remarkable tokens of 
his power and grace, which are particularly mentioned in 
Judg. vi., vii., viii. He is honorably mentioned, Heb. 
xi. 32. 

Abimelech. 2. (Judg. viii. 31.) A son of Gideon, 
who, after the death of his father, persuaded the men of 
Shechem to make him king. (Judg. ix. 18.) He after- 
wards put to death seventy of his brothers who dwelt in his 
father's house at Ophrah, leaving only Jotham, the young- 
est, alive. After several defeats he was at last mortally 
wounded by a piece of millstone thrown upon his head by 
a woman from the top of a tower in Thebez. That it 
mio[ht not be said a woman slew him, he called to his 
armor-bearer to stab him with his sword, and thus he died. 
(Judg. ix, 54— 57.) 

Jephthait, the tenth judge of Israel, who, in conse- 
quence of an extraordinary vow, sacrificed his daughter. 
Judg. xi. Some learned men, by altering one of the origi- 
nal words a little, and some considerations connected with 
the narrative, infer that he only consigned her to celibacy. 
In his day Troy was burnt by the Greeks, about A. M. 
2800. 

Samson. (Judg. xiii. 24.) Son of Manoah, and for 
twenty years a Judge of Israel. The circumstances at- 
tendino- the annunciation of his birth are remarkable, 
(Judg, xiii. 3 — 23,) and he was distinguished for 
his gigantic strength. Contrary to the wishes of his 
parents, who were observers of the law, (Ex. xxxiv. 16. 
Deut. vii. 3,) he married a woman of Timnath, a Philis- 
tine city On his way to that city, he slew a lion, (Judg. 
xiv. 5 — 9, and he was of the tribe of Daniel. Dr. Clarke 
has shown from M. DeLevaar, that he is the original of the 
fabled Hercules of heathen mythology. He died 1117 
years B. C, aged 40. Judg. xiii. xvi. Heb. xi. 32, 33. 



ANCIENT KINGS AND WARS. 191 

Eli. ,(1 Sam. ii. 11.) A descendant of Ithamar, the 
fourth son of Aaron, and successor of Abdon, as high 
priest and judge of Israel. In consequence of his negli- 
gence or injudicious management of his two sons Hophni 
and Phinehas, he suffered severe chastisement. Samuel 
was directed to disclose to Eli the judgments that would 
come upon his family, (I Sam. iii. 13, 14,) chiefly because 
of his neglect of paternal duty. The old man received 
the intelligence with remarkable submission ; but it was 
not until twenty-seven years after, that God fulfilled his 
threatenings. Then his two sons were both slain in the 
same battle with the Philistines, into whose hands the ark 
of God fell. The aged priest, then in his ninety-eighth 
year, was so overwhelmed when these calamities were made 
known to him, that he fell backward from his seat, and 
broke his neck. He had governed the Hebrews in all 
their concerns, civil and religious, for the long period of 
forty years. (1 Sam. iv. 18.) 

Samuel, (1 Sam, i. 20,) the son of Elkanah and Han- 
nah, was a celebrated Hebrew prophet, and the last of their 
judges. While he was a child, he officiated in some form 
in the temple, and was favored with remarkable revelations. 



19^ LIGHT AND TRUTH. 



CHAPTER V. 



COLORED GENERALS AND SOLDIERS. 



MOSES. 

Moses was a General of Egypt. He was the most dis- 
tinguished character of ancient times. Josephus says 
that after Moses was nourished and brought up in the 
king's palace, he was appointed General of the Egyptian 
army, and made war against the Ethiopians and con- 
quered them. This battle was fought about 1497 years 
B. C. Tharbis was the daughter of the Ethiopian king; 
she happened to see Moses as he led the army near tha 
walls of the city, fighting with great courage. She ad- 
mired the subtilty of his undertaking, and believing him 
to be the author of the Egyptians' success, fell deeply in 
love with him, and upon consideration of the subject 
sent to him the most faithful of her servants to discourse 
with him upon their marriage. Moses thereupon ac- 
cepted the offer on condition that she would procure the 
delivering up of the city to him. Moses married the 
king's daughter for the love and affection she had for him, 
and he obtained the city by her wisdom and artifice. 
This city had strong walls on every side, and was encir- 
cled by the river Nile and Astrapus. This city was first 
called Saba, a royal city of Ethiopia. Cambyses, after 
he had taken it, named it Meroe, after his own sister. 
[Rollin and Strabo.] 

Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, 
and mighty in words and in deeds. (Acts vii. 21, 22.) 



COLORED GENERALS AND SOLDIERS. 193 



HANNO. 

Hanno, an African, the father of Hamilcar, was a 
general of Carthage. He flourished when the Carthagi- 
nians were in their greatest prosperity. Some place his 
time 140 years before the founding of Rome, which would 
be about 800 years before the era of the whites. This 
commander-in-chief was sent out with a fleet and army by 
order of the Carthaginian Senate, to make treaties and 
settle colonies on the coast of Africa. [Encyclopedia 
Perthensis. Rollin, Voss, St Hist. Gr. 1. 4.] 



HAMILCAR. 

Hamilcar, an African, was the father of Hannibal. 
The fleet at that time consisted of two thousand ships of 
war, and upwards of three thousand small vessels of bur- 
den. The land forces amounted to no less than three 
hundred thousand men. These immense forces sailed 
from Carthage under the command of the celebrated 
Hamilcar, and were landed at Palermo, (in Latin, Pan- 
ormus.) This fleet was burnt in the war by the strata- 
gems of Gelon, an able warrior, who was sent to assist 
Theron the General of Hymera, a city not far from Pal- 
ermo. The preparations for this war had occupied three 
years. 

Three years after, they appointed Hamilcar their gen- 
eral a second time; and on his pleading his great age 
for declining the command in this war, they gave him for 
his lieutenant, Imilcon the son of Hanno, of the same 
family. The preparations for this war, were equal to the 
great design, which the Carthaginians had formed. The 
fleet and army were soon ready, and sailed from Car- 
thage for Sicily. This army consisted of 300,000 men, 
according to Eporus; but according to Timaeus, of six 
hundred and twenty thousand. The General having 
diedi after the reduction of several cities, Imilcon ended 
the war by a treaty with Dionysius. [Rollin.] 



f§4 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

IMILCON. 

Imilcon, an African, a general of Carthage. The 
following year, Imilcon, being appointed one of the rulers 
of Carthage, returned to Sicily with a greater army than 
before. He landed at Palermo, took several cities; and 
recovered Motya by force of arms. His fleet under the 
command of Mago, sailed along the coast, — above two 
hundred ships laden with the spoils of the enemy, and 
five hundred barques, entered in good order the great 
harbor of Syracuse. The army according to some au- 
thors, consisted of 300,000 foot, and 3,000 horse. In 
addition to this army, new troops were raised, and 
placed under the command of Mago, whose father had 
been lately killed. He was very young, but of great 
abilities and reputation. He soon arrived in Sicily, and 
gave Dionysius battle. In this battle, Leptinus, brother 
of Dionysius and upwards of 14,000 Syracusans were left 
dead upon the field. By this victory, the Carthaginians 
obtained an honorable peace, which left them in posses- 
sion of all they had in Sicily, with the addition even of 
some strong holds; besides a thousand talents to defray 
the expenses of the war. Yet Mago, on his return to 
Carthage wks impeached, and died soon after of grief. 



HANNIBAL. 

Hannibal, the Great, an African, a general of Carthage, 
218 B. C. Carthage having been at peace 23 years, he led 
the Carthaginian army and laid siege to Saguntum, a city of 
Spain, in alliance with the Romans. The Carthaginians, 
passing through the straits with their fleet, and Hannibal, 
after taking that place, conceived the bold design of car- 
rying the war into Italy. In the accomplishment of that 
design, he passed the Pyrenees and finally the Alps, with 
incredible difficulty, having, when he arrived in Italy, 
20,000 foot and 6000 horse. The Romans fell before him. 
In several pitched battles he utterly routed them, and at 
Cannse he made an immense slaughter, 40,000 Romans 
being left dead on the field. Had he pushed his advan- 
tages, and gone immediately to Rome, the fate of the re- 



COLORED GENERALS AND SOLDIERS. 195 

miblic would no doubt have been sealed. But he hesita- 
ted, and this gave time to the Romans to concentrate their 
forces, and they in their turn became victorious, by car- 
rying the vi'ar into Africa. 



,SCIPIO AFRICA NUS. 

SciPio Africanus, an Ethiopian, the Roman general, 
attacked Hannibal's forces, who had come out against 
Rome, and gave him battle, about 146 years B. C. ; and 
finally prevailed by carrying the war into Africa. The last 
punic war terminated with the overthrow of Carthage. 

jffannihal to Scipio Africanus at their interview jireceding 
the battle of Zama. 

Since fate has so ordained it, that I, who began the 
war, and who have been so often on the point of ending it 
by a complete conquest, should now come of my own 
motion to ask a peace ; I am glad that it is of you, 
Scipio, I have the fortune to ask it. Nor will this be 
among the least of your glories, that Hannibal, victorious 
over so many Roman generals, submitted at last to you. 

I could wish, that our fathers and we had confined our 
ambition within the limits which nature seems to have pre- 
scribed to it ; the shores of Africa, and the shores of Italy. 
The gods did not give us that mind. On both sides we 
have been so eager after foreign possessions, as to put our 
own to the hazard of war. Rome and Carthage have had, 
each in her turn, the enemy at her gates. But since 
errors past may be more easily blamed than corrected, let 
it now be the work of both you and me to put an end, if 
possible, to the obstinate contention. For my own part, 
my years, and the experience I have had of the instability 
of fortune, incline me to leave nothing to her determina- 
tion which reason can decide. But much I fear, Scipio, 
that your youth, your want of the like experience, your 
uninterrupted success, may render you averse from the 
thoughts of peace. He whom fortune has never failed, 
rarely reflects upon her inconstancy. Yet, without recur- 
ring to former examples, my own may perhaps suffice to 
teach you moderation. I am that same Hannibal, who, 



196 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

after my victory at Cannae, became master of the greatest 
part of your country, and deliberated with myself what 
fate I should decree to Italy and Rome. And now, see 
the change! Here, in Africa, I am come to treat with a 
Roman, for my own preservation, and my country's. Such 
are the sports of fortune. Is she then to be trusted because 
she smiles? An advantageous peace is preferable to the 
hope of victory. The one is in your own power, the other 
at the pleasure of the gods. Should you prove victorious, 
it would add little to your own glory, or the glory of your 
country; if vanquished, you lose in one hour all the honor 
and reputation you have been so many years acquiring. 
But what is my aim in all this ? — that you should content 
yourself with our cession of Spain, Sicily, Sardinia and 
all the islands between Italy and Africa. A peace on 
these conditions will, in my opinion, not only secure the 
future tranquillity of Carthage, but be sufficiently glorious 
to you, and for the Roman name. And do not tell me 
that some of our citizens dealt fraudulently with you in 
the late treaty — it is I, Hannibal, that now ask a peace: 
I ask it, because I think it expedient for my country ; and, 
thinking it expedient, I will inviolably maintain it. 

Scipio\s Answer. 

I knew very well, Hannibal, that it was the hope of your 
return which erabolded the Carthaginians to break the 
truce with us, and to lay aside all thoughts of a peace, 
when it was just upon the point of being concluded ; and 
your present proposal is a proof of it. You retrench from 
their concessions every thing but what we are, and have 
been long possessed of. But as it is your care that your 
fellow citizens should have the obligations to you of being 
eased from a great part of their burden, so it ought to be 
mine that they draw no advantage from their perfidious- 
ness. Nobody is more sensible than I am of the weakness 
of man and the power of fortune, and that whatever we 
enterprise is subject to a thousand chances. If, before the 
Romans passed into Africa, you had of your own accord 
quitted Italy, and made the offers you now make, I believe 
they would not have been rejected. But as you have been 
forced out of Italy, and we are masters here of the open 
country, the situation of things is much altered. And 



COLORED GENERALS AND SOLDIERS. 197 

what is chiefly to be considered, the Carthaginians, by the 
late treaty which we entered into at their request, were, 
over and above what you offer, to have restored to us our 
prisoners without ransom, delivered up their ships of war, 
paid us five thousand talents, and to have given hostages 
for the performance of all. The senate accepted these 
conditions, but Carthage failed on her part; Carthage 
deceived us. What then is to be done? Are the Car- 
thaginians to be released from the most important articles 
of the treaty, as a reward of their breach of faith ? No, 
certainly. If, to the conditions before agreed upon, you 
had added some new articles to our advantage, there would 
have been matter of reference to the Roman people ; but 
when, instead of adding, you retrench, there is no room for 
deliberation. The Carthaginians therefore must submit to 
us at discretion, or must vanquish us in battle. 



POMPEY. 

PoMPEY, [an Ethiopian,] a Roman general, had early 
acquired the surname of the Great, by that sort of merit 
which, from the constitution of the republic, necessarily 
made him great ; a fame and success in war superior to 
what Rome had ever known in the most celebrated of her 
generals. He had triumphed, at three several times, over 
the three different parts of the known world — Europe, 
Asia and Africa : and by his victories had almost doubled 
the extent, as well as the revenues of the Roman domin- 
ion ; for, as he declared to the people on his return from 
the Mithridatic war, he had found the lesser Asia the 
boundary ; but left it the middle of their empire. He was 
about six years older than Caesar ; and while Csesar, im- 
mersed in pleasures, oppressed with debts, and suspected 
by all honest men, was hardly able to show his head, Pom- 
pey was flourishing in the height of power and glory; and, 
by the consent of all parties, placed at the head of the re- 
public. 

The taking of Jerusalem by Pompey happened 63 years 
B. O. This event was connected with the restoration of 
Hyrcanus to the government of Judea, and the subjection 
of the country to the Romans. It was made tributary to 
Rome. 



i§3 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

The battle of Pharsalia was fought by Pompey against 
Caesar the Great, about 48 years B. C. Caesar, in his at- 
tempt to deprive Pompey of his government, entered Rome 
before him, and had time to collect an army, with many of 
the Senate. He immediately left Rome, and marched di- 
rectly to attack Pompey's lieutenants, who were in Spain, 
Scipio and Cato. Having subdued them, and being in the 
mean time appointed dictator, and soon after consul, he 
had the right of acting in the name of the republic. 

By this time, Pompey had raised a numerous army oi 
Roman citizens to oppose Csesar by force of arms. Caesar 
was anxious to bring him to an engagement. He met him 
in the field of Pharsalia, and entirely defeated his army. 
Fifteen thousand were slain, and twenty-four thousand sur- 
rendered themselves prisoners ; and Pompey, who had been 
chosen the Roman consul, and was engaged in wars on ac- 
count of the republic, after conquering various countries, 
was forced to flee into Egypt, and w^as slain by Ptolemy the 
king. This deed was effected by Ptolemy, in order to con- 
ciliate the favor of Caesar, the enemy of Pompey. 

How happy would it have been for him to have died 
in that sickness, when all Italy was putting up vows and 
prayers for his safety! or, if he had fallen by the chance 
of war, on the plains of Pharsalia, in the defence of his 
country's liberty, he had died still glorious, though unfor- 
tunate ; but, as if he had been referred for an example of 
the instability of human greatness, he, who a few days be- 
fore commanded kings and consuls, and all the noblest of 
Rome, was sentenced to die by a council of slaves; mur- 
dered by a base deserter ; cast out naked and headless on 
the Eo-yptian strand; and when the whole earth, as Vellei- 
us says, had scarce been suflicient for his victories, could 
not find a spot upon it at last for a grave. His body was 
burnt on the shore by one of his freedmen, with the planks 
of an old fishing boat; and his ashes, being conveyed to 
Rome, were deposited privately, by his wife Cornelia, in a 
vault by his Alban villa. 'I'he Egyptians however raised a 
monument to him on the place, and adorned it with figures 
of brass, which, being defaced afterwards by time, and 
buried almost in sand and rubbish, was sought out, and re- 
stored by the Emperor Hadrian. [Middleton.] 



COLORED GENERALS AND SOLDIERS. 199 

CIMON. 

CiMON was the last of all the Grecian generals, who did 
any thing, considerable or glorious, against the barbarians„ 
He gained several victories, which reduced Artaxerxes to 
the necessity of concluding a treaty highly honorable to 
the Greeks. Greece was first colonized by the Phosni- 
cians and Egyptians. 

In A.M. 3554, Cimon stifled the sparks of war which 
were going to break out anjong the Greeks; reconciled the 
two cities, and prevailed with them to conclude a truce for 
five years. And to prevent the Athenians, who were 
grown haughty in effect of the many victories they had 
gained, from having an opportunity, or harboring a design 
to attack their neighbors and allies, he thought it advisable 
to lead them to a great distance from home against the 
common enemy; thus endeavoring, in an honorable way, 
to inure the citizens to war, and enrich them at the same 
time. Accordingly he put to sea with a fleet of two hun- 
dred sail. He sent sixty of these into Egypt to the aid of 
Amyrteus, and himself sailed with the rest against the 
island of Cyprus. Artabazus was at that time in those 
seas with a fleet of three hundred sail; and jVIegabysuSj, 
the other general of Artaxerxes, with an army of three 
hundred thousand men, on the coast of Cilicia. As soon 
as the squadron which Cimon sent into Egypt had joined 
his fleet, he sailed and attacked Artabazus, and took an 
hundred of his ships. He sunk many of them, and chased 
the rest as fiir as the coasts of Phoenicia. But as if this 
victory had been only a prelude to a second, he made a de- 
scent on Cilicia in his return — attacked Megabysus — de- 
feated him, and cut to pieces a prodigious number of his 
troops. He afterwards returned to Cyprus with this double 
triumph, and laid siege to Citium, a strong city of very 
great importance. His design, after he had reduced that 
island, was to sail to Egypt, and again embroil the affairs 
of the Barbarians ; for he had very extensive views, and 
meditated no less a prospect than that of the entire subver- 
sion of the mighty empire of Persia. The rumors which 
prevailed, that Themistocles was to command against him, 
added fresh fire to his courage; and almost assured of suc- 
cess, he was infinitely pleased with the occasion of trying 



^00 



DIGHT AND TRUTH. 



his abilities with those of that general. But we have al- 
ready seen that Themistocles laid violent hands onhimself 
about this time. 

Artaxerxes, tired with a war in which he had sustained 
such great losses, resolved, with the advice of his council, 
to put an end to it. Accordingly, he sent orders to his 
generals to conclude a peace with the Athenians, upon the 
most advantageous conditions they could. Megabysus and 
Artabazus sent ambassadors to Athens to propose an ac- 
commodation. Plenipotentiaries were chosen on both 
sides, and Callias was at the head of those of Athens. 
The conditions of the treaty were as follows : 1. That all 
the Grecian cities of Asia should enjoy their liberty, with 
such laws and forms of government as they should think 
fit to choose. 3. That no Persian ship of war should be 
allowed to enter the seas between the Cyanean and Cheli- 
donian islands, that is, from the Euxine sea to the coast of 
Pamphylia. 3. That no Persian general should march any 
troops within three day's march of those seas. 4. That 
the Athenians should not invade any part of the dominions 
of the king of Persia. These articles being ratified by 
both parties, peace was proclaimed. 

Thus ended this war, which, from the burning of Sardis 
by the Athenians, had lasted fifty-one years complete, and 
in which infinite numbers of Persians as well as Greeks had 
perished. 

Whilst this treaty was negotiating, Cimon died, either of 
sickness, or of a wound he had received at the siege of 
Citium. When he was near his end, he commanded his 
officers to sail with the fleet immediately for Athens, and 
to conceal his death with the utmost care. Accordingly 
this was executed. 

In the 2d century the Jews of Africa, in the city of Gy- 
rene on the Mediterranean, revolted from the Romans, and 
after slaying 200,000 Greeks and Romans, the Jews were 
subdued, with a great number massacred, about A. D. 114. 



BELISARIUS. 
Belisarius, an African general. The defeat of the 
Vandals, in Africa, by Belisarius, occurred A. D. 534. 



COLORED GENERALS AND SOLDIERSo 201 

By this event Africa was recovered to the empire. In the 
year 536, Belisarius, the great hero of this age, took Rome 
from the Goths. Though some time elapsed after this 
event, before the Gothic power was annihilated in Italy, 
the subjugation of the Ostro Goths, by BelisariaSj, restored 
Italy to the empire, A. D. 537. 

CoNQUESTs OF THE MooRs. — They conquered the whole 
^vorld known to the ancients. The Saracens or Moors, the 
descendants of Ishmael, the son of Abraham, by Hagar, an 
Ethiopian woman, subdued Arabia, Persia, Mesopotamia, 
Chaldea, Syria, Palestine and the northern part of Africa. 
Even Sicily, and a part of Europe, became part of their 
dominion in A. D. 656 — 666. Their empire was divided 
into seven kincrdoms about A. D. 936. 



COL. HENRY DIAZ, 

This was one of the most remarkable men of his age. 
In the course of a long and harrassing war with their 
Dutch masters, the Brazilians had become fatigued, and 
their resources nearly exhausted. In the midst of their 
greatest despondency, a stout, active, African (slave,) 
named Henry Diaz, presented himself in the Brazilian 
camp. With the air and tone of one whose purpose had 
been deliberately formed, he proposed to the command- 
er, John Fernandes, to raise a regiment of his own coioFj 
and bring them to the rescue of their common country. 
Although the Portuguese, and other nations of the south 
of Europe, have never indulged toward the colored race 
those rancorous prejudices which exist in the United 
States, yet the sudden appearance, and singular propo- 
sal, of this intrepid African, occasioned no small surprise 
among the Portuguese officers. The arrival of Joan of 
Arc in the camp of Charles the Seventh could scarcely 
have produced more wonder. But Diaz, though an en- 
thusiast, made no pretension to miracles. He was well 
acquainted with the character of his race; and he relied 
upon his own influence, and tact, to develope the great 
qualities, which he well knevv they possessed. Their 
situation was indeed wretched and degraded in. the ex- 
14 



^02 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

treme ; but he had occasionally seen in them, as he felt 
within himself, a capacity for high and noble deeds. 

When a beggar is offered silver, he is not likely to be 
very fastidious about the stamp of the coin; and thus it 
was with the Portuguese commander. He readily ac- 
cepted the proposal of Diaz; but with an incredulous 
smile, that plainly implied he considered it no harm for 
the blackies to try; just as a father looks and speaks to 
little boys, when they ask to hold the plough. 

Henry Diaz returned triumphantly to his companions, 
to communicate the success of his mission. He exhibi- 
ted the parchment he had received; and though few 
could read the words, all were able to appreciate the 
magnitude of the seals, and the magnificence of the flour- 
ishes. 

The blacks have always shown a readiness to exchange 
domestic slavery for the milder servitude, and more ex- 
citing scenes of the army. They f*ear bullets less than 
stripes. The history of revolutions in North and South 
America, but especially in the latter, furnishes sufficient 
proofs of the truth of this remark. 

The regiment was soon full, and organized into regu- 
lar battalions and companies. Such was the talent and 
energy of Diaz, and such effective use had he made of 
the hours he was enabled to steal from labor and from 
sleep, that in less than two months his troops were com- 
pletely equipped, and in as perfect a state of discipline 
as the oldest corps of the army. From miserable, ragged, 
servile creatures, they had suddenly started up into 
brave and stout men, their faces animated with intelli- 
gence and hope, and their eyes glistening like the flash- 
ing of the sun upon their bright muskets. 

By the fierce and unyielding courage of this regiment, 
and the genius and skill of its commander, the Duich 
were repeatedly defeated, after the most severe contests. 
The soldiers were never, but once, known to waver from 
the rock-like firmness said to distinguish colored troops. 
Once, when struggling against a vast superiority of num- 
bers, there was a momentary relaxation of their eflfbrts, 
and some symptoms of dismay. Their Colonel rushed 
into the midst of the breaking ranks, and exclaiming, 
** Are these the brave companions of Henry Diaz !'* he 



COLORED GENERALS AMD SOLDIERS. 203 

restored their confidence, and secured the victory. By 
a new and desperate charge, the enemy were completely 
routed. 

After eight years of almost constant warfare, the 
Dutch were driven from that vast territory, which now 
forms the empire of Brazil. Of all those rich possessions, 
which they had expended millions to conquer, by land 
and by sea, and which their avarice and cruelty had too 
long desolated, nothing finally remained, but one large, 
and apparently impregnable fortress, called Cinco Pon- 
tas, near Pernambuco. It commanded the whole city 
and neighborhood, and was well provisioned, and garri- 
soned by an army of five thousand men. Many useless 
attempts were made to get possession of this important 
post. It was defended by high and massive walls, and 
by deep and wide ditches, containing twelve feet of water; 
and provisions being constantly supplied from Dutch 
ships, there was no hope of reducing it by famine. Every 
fresh attack upon it was immediately punished by pour- 
ing its powerful batteries on the city and surrounding 
country. While the enemy possessed this strong hold, 
the Brazilians were subject to continual irritation and 
alarm, and could never regard their dear-bought inde- 
pendence as secure. 

Here was a subject fit to employ the bold genius and 
unwearied energy of Henry Diaz! 

He sent an officer to the Commander-in-chief, request- 
ing an audience, that he might communicate a plan for 
taking the Citico Pontas. The General readily granted 
this request; but with a still smaller hope of any favora- 
ble result, than he had entertained, when the slave first 
proposed his recruiting scheme. 

Diaz detailed his plan with characteristic earnestness. 
The superior officers listened respectfully; for his well- 
earned reputation effectually protected the speaker from 
open derision. The result of the conference was, that 
the General declined adopting the measures proposed, 
but had no objection that Diaz himself should carry them 
into effect, with the troops under his command. " Then," 
replied the brave Colonel, " to-morrow at sunrise", you 
shall see the Portuguese flag wave on the tower of Cinco 
Pontas r' 



204 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

As Diaz retired, he overheard his commander say to 
one of the officers, '^ It is a nigger plan.^^ He took no 
notice of the scornful remark; but made preparations for 
his hazardous enterprise with all possible secrecy and 
despatch. 

His men were ordered to lay aside their muskets — 
to retain their side-arms — to take a pair of pistols in 
their belts — and to carry upon their shoulders, a heap 
of wood, tightly bound together with osier bands. Thus 
prepared, at two o'clock in the morning, their com- 
mander gave directions to march toward the fort. The 
ni^ht was dark, and the column arrived at their desti- 
nation in perfect safety. Silently and rapidly they de- 
posited their bundles in the deep trench, beginning at 
the outer margin, and building successive layers toward 
the wall. As fast as this operation was performed, they 
filed off, and formed companies, in readiness to scale the 
wall, as soon as this combined bridge and ladder should 
be completed. They were obliged to wait but a brief 
period. The Roman warriors could not have buried the 
parricide woman under their shields with more celerity, 
than the soldiers of Diaz filled up the fosse, and formed 
an ascent to the wall. 

Diaz was the first to leap upon the ramparts. The 
first sentinel he met was laid dead at his feet. 

The garrison were sleeping; and before they were 
completely roused, the Brazilians had gained the greater 
part of the fortress. As soon as the Dutch recovered a 
little from their first surprise and confusion, they formed 
a compact phalanx, and offered desperate resistance. 
Diaz received a sabre-wound, which shattered the bones 
of his left arm above the wrist. It was necessary to 
staunch the blood, which flowed profusely. Finding that 
it would take the surgeon some time to adjust the bones, 
and arrange the dressing, he bade him cut off* the hand, 
saying, "It is of less consequence to me than a few mo- 
ment's time, just now." 

This being done, he again rushed into the hottest of 
the fight; and although the Dutch had greatly the ad- 
vantage in the use of their artillery and muskets, they 
could not long withstand the determined bravery of their 
assailants. Fighting h md to hand, they soon killed, or 



COLORED GENERALS AND SOLDIERS. 203 

captured, the whole garrison, and took possession of 
their immense stores of provision and ammunition. 

When the darkness and smoke cleared away, the 
Portuguese flag was seen waving from the tower of 
Cinco Pontas ! 

The Commander-in-Chief could scarcely believe thf; 
evidence of his own senses. The intrepid Diaz sent an 
aid-de-camp to say that the fort and prisoners were at 
the disposition of his Excellency. In a few hours, the 
General, with a numerous suite entered the fortress, 
and was saluted by the victorious troops. They found 
Colonel Diaz reclining on his camp-bed, enfeebled by 
exertion and loss of blood. He, however, raised himself 
to a sitting posture, and received the thanks and con- 
gratulations of his commanding and brother officers, 
with the grave and placid air habitual to him. Then 
looking up archly, he said, ''/f ivas a nigger plan, Gen- 
eral; but the Fort is taken." 

At the request of John the Fourth, Henry Diaz 
visited Portugal, where he was received with great dis- 
tinction. The king desired him to choose any reward 
within his power to bestow. Diaz merely requested 
that his regiment might be perpetuated, and none ad- 
mitted to its ranks but those of his own color. This 
was granted; and a considerable town and territory were 
appropriated to secure pensions to these brave men and 
their successors. The town is called Estancia, and is 
situated a short distance from Pernambuco. 

The king conferred knighthood upon Diaz, and caused 
a medal to be struck in commemoration of the capture 
of Cinco Pontas. It was likewise ordained that the 
regiment should for ever bear the name of its first com- 
mander. It still exists in Pernambuco. Its uniform is 
white, faced with red, and embroidered with gold. The 
decoration-5 which Diaz received from John the Fourth, 
are transmitted to the commander of the regiment, to 
this day; and at royal audiences they have the privilege 
of being the first to kiss the sovereign's hand. [Greg, 
pp. 94. 90. David L. Child, Esq. of Massachusetts.] 



206 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

COLORED SOLDIERS. 

The brave colored soldiers of America, who fought for 
the boasted land of equal rights and liberty, in the Ameri- 
can war against Great Britain. 

In the Revolutionary War on Bunker Hill, in that victo- 
rious battle, the colored soldiers fought bravely — standing 
shoulder to shoulder in reoriments with the whites, and 
gained that great victory over a superior number of British 
troops. [See the old map of Bunker Hill battle, a slave 
standinor behind his master and shootinor down an officer of 
the British army, and ready for another fire.] Our fathers 
shed their blood on the shores of Jersey, and faced the 
British bayonets in the most desperate hour of danger in 
the Revolution. 

Hon. Mr. Burgess of Rhode Island, said on the floor of 
Congress Jan. 28, 1828 :— 

" At the commencement of the Revolutionary War, 
Rhode Island had a number of this description of people, 
[slaves.] A regiment of them were enlisted into the con- 
tinental service, and no braver men met the enemy in bat- 
tle ; but not one of them was permitted to be a soldier un- 
til he had first been made a freeman." 

Said the Hon. Mr. Martindale of New York, in Con- 
gress, Jan. 22d, 1838 : — 

" Blacks who had been slaves, were entrusted as sol- 
diers in the war of the revolution ; and I, myself, saw a 
battalion of them, as fine, martial looking men as I ever 
saw attached to the northern army in the last war, on its 
march from Plattsburor to Sackett's Harbor." 

Said the Hon. Charles Miner, of Pennsylvania, in Con- 
gress, February 7th, 1828: — 

" The African race make excellent soldiers. Large 
numbers of them were with Perry, and aided to gain the 
brilliant victory on Lake Erie. A whole battalion of them 
was distinguished for its soldierly appearance." 

The Hon. Mr. Clarke, in the Convention which revised 
the Constitution of New York, in 1821, said in regard to 
the right of suffrage of colored men : — 

" In the war of the revolution these people helped to 
fight your battles by land and by sea. Some of your states 
were glad to turn out corps of colored men, and to stand 



COLORED GENERALS AND SOLDIERS. 207 

shoulder to shoulder with them. In your late war they 
contributed largely towards your most splendid victories. 
On Lakes Erie and Champlain, where your fleets triumphed 
over a foe superior in numbers, and engines of death, they 
were manned in a large proportion with men of color. 
And in this very house, in the fall of 1814, a bill passed, 
receiving the approbation of all the branches of your gov- 
ernment, authorizing the Governor to accept the service of 
two thousand free people of color." 

On the 20th of March, 1779, it was recommended by 
Congress to the States of Geoigia and South Carolina, to 
raise 3,000 colored troops who were to be rewarded for 
their services by their freedom. The delegations from 
those states informed Congress that such a body of troops 
would be not only " formidable to the enemy," but would 
lessen the danger of "revolts and desertions" among 
the slaves themselves. (See Secret Journal of the Old 
Congress, Vol. 1, pp. 105 — 107.) 

[And are we to be thus looked to for help in the '' hour 
of danger," but trampled under foot in the hour of peace? 
*' No more will we fight against our friends for this op- 
pressed land."] 



THE LAST AMERICAN WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN. 

During the last war, the slaves and free colored people 
were called to the defence of the country by General 
Jackson, and received the following testimony to the val- 
ue of their services, in which, let it be remarked, they 
were addressed B.sfelloio citizens with the whites: 

"Through a mistaken policy you have heretofore been 
deprived of a participation in the glorious struggle for 
national rights, in which our country is engaged. This 
no longer shall exist. 

As sons of Freedom, you are now called upon to de- 
fend our most inestimable blessing. As Americans, 
your country looks with confidence to her adopted chil- 
dren, for a valorous support, as a faithful return for the 
advantages enjoyed under her mild and equitable gov- 
ernment. As fathers, husbands, and brothers, you are 



208 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

summoned to rally round the standard of the Eagle, to 
defend all which is dear in existence. 

Your country, although calling for your exertions, 
does not wish you to engage in her cause, without re- 
munerating you for the services rendered. Your intel- 
ligent minds are not to be led away by false representa- 
tions — your love of honor would cause you to despise 
the man who should attempt to deceive you. In the sin- 
cerity of a soldier, and the language of truth, I address 
you. 

To every noble hearted freeman of color, volunteer- 
ing to serve during the present contest with Great Brit- 
ain, and no longer, there will be paid the same bounty 
in money and lands, now received by the white soldiers 
of the United States, viz: one hundred and twenty-four 
dollars in money, and one hundred and sixty acres of 
land. The non-commissioned officers and privates will 
also be entitled to the same monthly pay and daily ra- 
tions, and clothes furnished to any American soldier. 

On enrolling yourselves in companies, the Major Gen- 
eral Commanding, will select officers for your govern- 
ment, from your white fellow citizens. [General Coffin, 
with seven hundred of the colored troops beat back the 
British forces who came up to break through the en- 
trenchment.] Your non-commissioned officers will be 
appointed from among yourselves. 

Due regard will be paid to the feelings of freemen 
and soldiers. You will not, by being associated with 
white men in the same corps, be exposed to improper 
comparisons or unjust sarcasm. As a distinct, inde- 
pendent battalion or regiment, pursuing the path of glo- 
ry, you will, undivided, receive the applause and grati- 
tude of your countrymen. 

To assure you of the sincerity of my intentions and 
my anxiety to engage your invaluable services to our 
country, I have communicated my wishes to the gov- 
ernor of Louisiana, who is fully informed as to the man- 
ner of enrolments, and will give you every necessary in- 
formation on the subject of this address. 

ANDREW JACKSON, 
Major General Commanding.'^ 



COLORED GENERALS AND SOLDIERS, 209 

PROCLAMATION TO THE FREE PEOPLE OF COLOR. 

"Soldiers! — When on the banks 'of the Mobile, I 
called you to take up arms, inviting you to partake the 
perils and glory of your white fellow citizens, I expected 
much from you ; for I was not ignorant that you pos- 
sessed qualities most formidable to an invading enemy. 
I knew with what fortitude you could endure hunger and 
thirst, and all the fatigues of a campaign. I know well 
how you loved your native country, and that you had, 
as vv^ell as ourselves, to defend what man holds most 
dear — his parents, relations, wife, children and proper- 
ty. You have done more than I expected. In addition 
to the previous qualities I before knew you to possess, I 
found, moreover, among you a noble enthusiasm which 
leads to the performance of great things. 

Soldiers!— The President of the United States shall 
hear how praiseworthy was your conduct in the hour of 
danger! and the Representatives, of the American people 
will, I doubt not, give you the praise your exploits enti- 
tle you to. Your General anticipates them in applauding 
your noble ardor. ,^ 

The enemy approaches; his vessels cover our lakes; 
our brave citizens are united, and all contention has 
ceased among them Their only dispute is, who shall 
win the prize of valor, or who the most glory, its noblest 
reward. By order, Thomas Butler, ^id de Camp.^' 

In the last war there was no honor due to Gen. Jack- 
son for arranging his army behind cotton bags in such 
a manner as to save life. [Belfast Rep. Jour.] 

The plan of throwing up an entrenchment between the 
swamp and the river, at the point where the British were 
obliged to approach, if they came at all, was not first 
conceived by Gen. Jackson, nor was the use of the cot- 
ton bales a scheme of his, but was a plan of a colored 
man. He proposed to the General the expediency of 
defending this strong point, which was so obvious that 
there could be no hesitation or dispute about it; Jack- 
son therefore ordered it to be built, and thus saved the 
American army and country. 



210 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 



CHAPTER VL 



DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 



THE GREAT CITY OF JERUSALEM. 

Her birth and nativity is of the land of Canaan. The 
father or founder of Jerusalem was an Amorite, and the 
mother a Hittite. (Ezekiel xvi. 3.) Amorite, the fourth 
son of Canaan, and Hittite, the descendants of Ham, the 
third son of Canaan, (Genesis x. IChronicles i.,) a 
colored people. Glorious things were spoken of this 
holy city. This noted city was built on two mountains, 
and contained two parts, called upper and lower city ; the 
former was built on Mount Sion, and the latter on Mount 
A era. This city is supposed to have been founded by 
Melchisedec, and then called Salem or Solyma. 

The splendid walls of Jerusalem were very high and 
broad. The most of this city was surrounded with three 
walls. In some places, where it was deemed inaccessible, 
it had only one wall. The wall first built was adorned and 
strengthened with sixty towers; fourteen towers rested on 
the middle wall ; ninety towers rested on the inside wall, 
and was most remarkable for its workmanship and grandeur. 

The tower Psephina was most celebrated. It was sev- 
enty cubits high, had eight angles, and commanded a most 
beautiful prospect. Here the visitor might, in a clear at- 
mosphere, delight himself with a view of the Mediterran- 
ean forty miles to the west, and of most of the Jewish do- 
minions in Arabia and Africa. Some of these towers 
were nearly ninety cubits high, and famous for their beauty, 
elegance and curiosities. They were built of white marble, 
and had the appearance of vast marble blocks. These huge 
piles gave to the city, in the view of the adjacent country, 
a most majestic appearance. Near the highest of these 



DESTRUCTION OE JERUSALEM. 211 

towers stood the Royal Palace, of the most commanding el- 
egance. Incredible cost had furnished its pillars, porticos, 
galleries and apartments. Its gardens, groves, fountains, 
aqueducts and walks presented the richest and most delight- 
ful scenery. This was the beauty and elegance of the 
north side of Jerusalem. On the east side, stood the 
temple and the fort of Antonio, over against Mount Olivet. 
This fort was built on a rock fifty feet in height and of 
inaccessible steepness, overlaid with slabs of marble. The 
castle of Antonia stood in the centre of this fortress. The 
workmanship of this castle made it more resemble a palace 
than a castle. A tower adorned each square of this for- 
tress — one of which was seventy cubits high, and com- 
manded a full view of the temple. 

Jerusalem, the city of the Great King, was originally a 
city of the Jebusites,* from whom it was taken by King 
David, and made the capital of Judea. For many centu- 
ries it might have been called God's capitol on earth. 
God said, alluding primarily to this city, The Lord hath 
chosen Zion to be a habitation for himself, Here will I 
dwell, for I have desired it, &c. The Lord of Hosts is 
with us- — the God of Jacob is our refuge. In Salem [Je- 
rusalem] stood his Tabernable, and his dwelling place in 
Zion. 

THE UPPER CITY. 

The House of the Mighty, the House of David, Zion, 
or the city of David. The House of Solomon, built 
for Pharaoh's daughter. Hippodrome and Upper Markets. 
The Fountain Gate on the west, the Water Gate on the 
East, the Dung Gate on the N. W., the Fort of Antiochus, 
&c. &.C. 

THE LOWER CITY. 

The temple was built on Mount Moriah [on the east side] 
and the fort of Anthony. Bezeta or the New Town, Salem 
or the Lower Town. Thedueen's House, the House of Hel- 
ens Ophel, Dwellings of the Nethinim. The Fish Gate and 
Ephraim Gate on the North. The Sheep Gate and Ben- 



* Jebus, the third son of Canaan, and grandson of Ham. The warlike 
Jebusites had long defended themselves against the Hebrews. Gen. ix. 15, 
16. 2 Samuel v. 6, Josephus. 



212 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

jamin'sGate on the east. The Corner Gate on the N. W., 
and the Horse Gate on the South. The Fish Market, 
Beast Market and Wood Market. The pool of Bethesda, 
Theatre, &lc. 

Jerusalem, formerly the capital of Judea, is now called, 
by the Turks, Cudsembaric and Cudscherif ; it is about 
three miles in circumference, and situated on a rocky 
mountain, with very steep ascents on all sides, except to 
the north ; the valleys being deep, and at some distance, 
environed with hills. From the oppressive tyranny of the 
Turks, it is now but thinly inhabited. 



A DESCRIPTION OF SOLOMON'S TEMPLE. 

Hiram, an Ethiopian king of Tyre, was Solomoo's 
coadjutor in the construction and furnishing of the tem- 
ple at Jerusalem. 

Solomon sent for Hiram; for he was filled with wisdom 
and understanding, skillful to work in gold, silver, brass, 
iron, stone, timber, glass, fine-linen, Slc; and to en- 
grave any manner of engraving; and to find out every 
device which shall be put to him, and he came to Solo- 
mon: and Solomon and Hiram made a league together. 
Hiram furnished Solomon with cedar and fir trees, olive 
and palm trees and algum. He sent also to Solomon si>i 
score talents of gold. He furnished seamen to navigate 
Solomon's vessels to Ophir; and such skillful artisans to 
prepare the materials for the temple, that there was nei- 
ther hammer, nor axe, nor any tool of iron heard in the 
house while it was building. There were three thousand 
and three hundred overseers, and 150,000 workmen en- 
gaged on this work. The temple was built upon Mount 
Moriah. It was supported by 1453 columns and 2906 
pilasters, all hewn from the finest Parian marble. Three 
grand columns or pillars were named Wisdom, Strength 
and Beauty, wisdom which God gave unto Solomon, and 
strength and beauty unto Hiram king of Tyre, whom 
God blessed to build and ornament the temple. This 
temple was in many respects the most astonishing sight 
ever beheld. Its site was partly upon a solid rock ori- 
ginally steep on every side. The foundation was of vast 



DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 213 

dimensions, said to be 300 cubits from its lowest base; 
it was composed of stones many of them sixty feet in 
length. The lower part of the superstructure was com- 
posed of blocks of white marble more than sixty feet long 
and seven feet by nine in bigness. The circumference 
of the whole pile, was four furlongs. In the front were 
spacious and lofty galleries, wainscoted with cedar, sup- 
ported by uniform rows of white marble columns. Jose- 
phus asserts that nothing could exceed the exterior parts 
of this house of God, for elegant and exquisite workman- 
ship, or in splendor: its solid plates of gold seemed to 
strive to outdazzle the rising sun. The part of the build- 
ing not covered with gold, had at a distance the appear- 
ance of pillars of snow, or white marble mountains. And 
the grandeur of the internal workmanship of this magni- 
ficent edifice was fully equal to its external magnificence. 
Nothing superb, costly, or elegant was spared. The 
different parts of the world seemed to have vied with 
©ach other, to pour their most costly treasures into this 
treasure house of heaven. The lower story of the tem- 
ple was decorated with the sacred furniture, the table of 
the shew bread, the altar of incense, and the candlestick 
of pure beaten gold. The altar and table were overlaid 
with pure gold. Several doors of this sanctuary were 
fifty-five cubits in height, and sixteen in breadth, likewise 
overlaid with pure gold. The richest Babylonian tapes- 
try of purple, blue, and of exquisite workmanship, waved 
within these doors. Gold vines of curious workmanship 
with leaves and clusters of grapes of gold were suspend- 
ed five or six feet from the ceiling. The eastern gate of 
the temple was immense, and of pure Corinthian brass, 
a most valuable metal. But it would be a task to enu- 
merate all the golden works, paintings, and gildings, 
vessels of gold, and scarlet, violet, and purple sacerdotal^ 
vestments, and all the piles of incalculable riches in this 
temple of Jehovah. The most precious stones, spices 
and perfumes, every thing that nature or art or riches 
could furnish, were stored within these stupendous and 
hallowed walls. 

This structure, for beauty, magnificence, and expense, 
exceeded any building which was ever erected. It was 
built of large stones of white marble, curiously hewn, 



214 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

and so artfully joined together, that they appeared like 
one entire stone. Its inner walls, beams, posts, doors, 
floors and ceilings, were made of cedar and olive wood, 
and planks of fir; which were entirely covered with 
plates of gold, with various beautiful engravings, and 
adorned with precious jewels of many splendid colors. 
The nails which fastened those plates were also of gold, 
with heads of curious workmanship. The roof was of 
olive wood, covered with gold; and when the sun shone 
thereon, the reflection from it was of such a refulgent 
splendor that it dazzled the eyes of all who beheld it. 
The court in which the temple stood, and the courts 
without, were adorned on all sides with stately buildings 
and cloisters; and the gates entering therein, were ex- 
quisitely beautiful and elegant. The vessels consecrated 
to the perpetual use of the temple, were suited to the 
magnificence of the edifice in which they were deposited 
and used. 

Josephus states, that there were one hundred and forty 
thousand of those vessels, which were made of gold, and 
one million three hundred and forty thousand of silver; 
ten thousand vestments for the priests, made of silk, with 
purple girdles; and two millions of purple vestments for 
the singers. There were also two hundred thousand 
trumpets, and forty thousand other musical instruments, 
made use of in the temple, and in worshipping God. 

According to the most accurate computation of the 
number of talents of gold, silver, and brass, laid out upon 
the temple, the sum amounts to six thousand nine hun- 
dred and four millions, eight hundred and twenty-two 
thousand and five hundred pounds sterling; and the jew- 
els are reckoned to exceed this sum. The gold vessels 
are estimated at five hundred and forty-five millions, two 
hundred and ninetv-six thousand, two hundred and three 
pounds, and four shillings, sterling; and the silver ones, 
at four hundred and thirty-nine millions, three hundred 
and forty-four thousand pounds sterling; amounting in 
all, to nine hundred and eighty-four millions, six hundred 
and thirty thousand, two hundred and thirty pounds, four 
shillings. In addition to this, there were expenses for 
workmen, and for materials brought from Mount Liban- 
us, and the quarries of Zeradatha. There were ten 



DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. • 215 

thousand men per month in Lebanon, employed in falling 
and preparing the timbers for the craftsmen to hew them, 
seventy thousand to carry burdens; eighty thousand to 
hew the stones and timber; and three thousand three 
hundred overseers of the work; who were all employed 
for seven years; to whom, besides their wages and diet, 
king Solomon gave as a free gift, six millions seven hun- 
dred and thirty-three thousand, nine hundred and seven- 
ty-seven pounds. 

The treasure left by David, towards carrying on this 
noble and glorious work, is reckoned to be nine hundred 
and eleven millions, four hundred and sixteen thousand, 
two hundred and seven pounds; to which if we add king 
Solomon's annual revenue, his trading to Ophir for gold, 
and the presents made him by all the earth, as mentioned 
1 Kings X. 24, 25, we shall not wonder at his being able 
to carry on so expensive a work; nor can we, without 
impiety, question jts surpassing all other structures, since 
we are assured that it was built by the immediate direc- 
tion of HEAVEN. 

And the king commanded, and they brought great 
stones, costly stones, and hewed stones, to lay the foun- 
dation of the house. And Solomon's builders and Hi- 
ram's builders did hew them, and the stone-squarers: so 
they prepared timber and stones to build the house. (1 
Kings V. 17, 18.) 

When the temple of Jerusalem was finished, the cap- 
stone was celebrated, w^itb great joy. "This is the stone 
which is become the head of the corner." (Psalm cxviii. 
22. Matt. xxi. 42. Mark xii. 10. Luke xx. 17. Acts iv. 
11. 1 Kings vi. 27.) 

And he set the cherubims within the inner house; and 
they stretched forth the wings of the cherubims, so that 
the wing of the one touched the one wall; and the wing 
of the other cherub touched the other wall; and their 
wings touched one another in the midst of the house. 

And Solomon made all the vessels that pertained unto 
the house of the Lord: the altar of gold, and the table of 
gold, whereupon the shew-bread was; and the candle- 
sticks of pure gold; five on the right side, and five on the 
left, before the oracle; with the flowers, and the lamps, 
and the to-i^gs of gold ; and the bowls, and the snuffers, 



216 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

and the basins, and the spoons, and the censers, of pure 
gold; and the hinges of gold, both for the doors of the 
inner house, the most holy place, and for the doors of the 
house, to wit, of the Temple. So Hiram made an end ot 
doing all the work, that he had made king Solomon, for 
the house of the Lord. 

Now, when Solomon had made an end of praying, the 
fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt 
offering and sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled 
the house. And the priest could not enter into the house 
of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord had filled the 
Lord's house. 

And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire 
came down, and the glory of the Lord upon the house, 
they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground 
upon the pavement, and worshipped, and praised the 
Lord, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth 
forever. (2 Chron. vii. 1 — 4.) 

I was glad when they said unto me. Let us go into the 
house of the Lord. Our feet shall stand within thy gates, 
O Jerusalem. Jerusalem is builded as a city that is 
compact together: whither the tribes go up, the tribes of 
the Lord, unto the testimony of Israel, to give thanks 
unto the name of the Lord. For there are set thrones 
of judgment, the thrones of the house of David. 

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper, 
that love thee. Peace be within thy walls, and prosperi- 
ty within thy palaces. For my brethren and companions' 
sakes, I will now say. Peace be within thee. Because 
of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek thy good. 
(Psalm cxxii.) 

In the year of the world 3029, King Solomon died, 
and was succeeded by his son Rehoboam. Soon after 
this, instigated and led on by Jeroboam, the son of Ne- 
bat, ten of the tribes revolted from Rehoboam, and set 
up a separate kingdom, with Jeroboam at their head. 
In this manner were the tribes of Israel divided, and 
under two distinct governments, for two hundred and 
fifty-four years. The ten revolted tribes became weak 
and degenerated; their country was laid waste, and their 
government overthrown and extirpated by Salmanezer, 
King of Assyria. After a series of changes and events, 



DESTRUCTION OP JERUSALEM. 217 

Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, having besieged Je- 
rusalem, and raised towers all round the city, so that, 
after defending it for the space of a year and a half, it 
was, in the eleventh year of the reign of Zedekiah, 
king of Judah, surrendered and delivered at nnidnight to 
the officers of Nebuchadnezzar, who sacked and de- 
stroyed the temple, and took away all the holy vessels, 
together with those two famous brazen pillars; and the 
remnant of the people that escaped the sword, carried 
he away captives to Babylon, where they remained ser- 
vants to him and his successors, until the reign of Cyrus, 
king of Persia. Cyrus, in the first year of his reign, 
being directed by that divine power which invisibly led 
him to the throne of Persia, issued his famous edict for 
the liberation of the Hebrew captives, with permission 
that they should return to their native country, and re- 
build the city and house of the Lord. Accordingly, the 
principal people of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, 
with the Priests and Levites, immediately departed for 
Jerusalem, and commenced the great and glorious work. 



THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 

Th^s City of God, long answered well to its name, 
Jerusalem, They shall see; Salem, Peace. Long did 
the church while they walked with God, there see and 
enjoy peace. But alas, we find recorded of this city, 
temple, and nation of Jews, a fatal reverse! They found 
the sentiment in their sacred oracles fulfilled, " The 
Lord is with you while ye be with him; but if ye forsake 
him he will cast you off." 

The Jews became carnal, and crucified the Lord of 
Glory; (Simon, a Cyrenian, or African, carried our Sa- 
vior's cross to the place of crucifixion,) and they fell 
under the denunciations and the full execution of his 
wrath. Their lawgiver, Moses, and their prophets had 
long thundered against them solemn denunciations, that 
if they should ever become of the character which they 
did, the most signal judgments of God should cut them 
off. 

The Messiah uttered against them, ifi consequence of 
15 



218 LIGHT AND TRUTH, 

their rejecting him, a new addition of these fatal denuncia- 
tions, which we find in Matt. xxiv. Mark xiii. Luke xix. 
41 — 44. chap. xxi. and xxiii. 27—30. These were to 
have a primary fulfilment in the desolation of Jerusalem, 
and of the Jewish commonwealth. This primary fulfil- 
ment, Christ assured them, should take place in that 
generation; and the denunciation was fulfilled. This 
fulfilment, inasmuch as it demonstrated the truth and 
divinity of our Savior, exhibited a type of the destruction 
of Antichrist, and of the wicked at the end of world; and 
shows the danger of rejecting the Son of God, and ought 
to be duly noted in the church and frequently contem-* 
plated. It is a subject too much neglected and forgotten 
in the present Christian world. I design then to give a 
concise description of the event in which Jesus Christ 
came in awful judgment upon the infidel Jews, and vin- 
dicated his cause against his persecutors and muj-derers. 

This noted city was owned by the warlike Jebusites, 
when the Israelites entered Canaan, and contained two 
parts called the upper and lower city, built on two moun- 
tains, Zion and Acra. In the higher city they long 
defended themselves against the Hebrews. Here they 
remained till king David subdued them, and called their 
city the City of David. 

Herod the Great, when he repaired or rebuilded the 
Temple, added vast strength and embellishments to this 
city; which accounts for its superb state and strength 
when it was destroyed. 

The Hebrew nation possessed this city for many cen- 
turies; it was the cradle of the true and only church of 
God on earth. There, glorious things were vt^rought for 
her salvation; patriarchs had there prayed, sacrificed 
and praised; there prophets had prophesied; and the Al- 
mighty had often made bare his holy arm. There his 
people had too often apostatized and were expelled from 
their Canaan, and again mercifully restored. There the 
Ten tribes of Israel renounced the House or City of 
David, and their God, and were hence banished to some 
unknown region of the world, while the Jews were still 
retained in the covenant of their God. There, God man- 
ifest in the flesli, made his appearance on earth; per- 
formed his public ministry; atoned for the sins of the 



DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. Q19 

world; and ascended to glory. There, the first heralds 
of the Gospel dispensation commenced their ministry; 
and thence, the wonderful scheme of grace was propaga- 
ted through the nations. 

The Lord blessed the Jews, while they kept his com- 
mandments and walked with him. But alas, here were 
the city and temple to be destroyed for the infidelity, 
malice, hypocrisy, and persecution of the Lord of Glory 
and His followers, which characterized its rulers and 
people. Here, a measure of unprecedented atrociousness 
was just filled up, which should bring down wrath upon 
them to the uttermost. This tremendous ruin, our Lord 
foretold and it was fulfilled. 

The last noted entrance into Jerusalem, of Him who 
was God manifest in the flesh, took place on the Monday 
before the scene of his suffering. Amidst the acclama- 
tion of multitudes, he was hailed king of Zion, with every 
token of joy and praise. The air rang with their praises, 
uttered for all the mighty works they had seen. They 
sang, Hosanna! Blessed be the king that cometh in the 
name of the Lord! Peace in Heaven and glory in the 
highest. Our Lord, superior to all their adulation, and 
knowiofif how soon the Hosannas of some of them would 
turn to " Crucify him," and being touched with sympa- 
try and pity for a devoted city, now going to fill up their 
guilty measure of iniquity, beheld the city and wept over 
it. He said: " If thou hadst known, even thou, in this 
thy day, the things which belong to thy peace; but now 
they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come 
when thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and 
encompass thee around, and keep thee in on every side, 
and shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children 
within thee. And they shall not leave thee one stone 
upon another, because thou knewest not the time of thy 
visitations." 

The day but one after, Christ went into the temple for 
the last time, to instruct the people. While he was 
thus employed, the high priest, elders, Herodians, Sad- 
ducees, and Pharisees, gathered in turn around him, 
with a malicious view to entangle him in his talk. Christ 
returned such answers, spake such parables, and set 
home such reproof and conviction to their souls, as not 



220 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

only to astonish and silence them; but to give them 
some awful prelibation of the final judgment, which 
awaited them at his bar. He thus, in a free and pun- 
gent address to the disciples, administered the most dig- 
nified and keen reproofs for the cruelty, hypocrisy, and 
pride, of the scribes and Pharisees. He foretold the 
malicious treatment the disciples would meet with at 
their hands; and then denounced the vengeance on that 
falling city, which for ages their crimes had been accu- 
mulating. He forewarned that this cup of divine indig- 
nation should be poured on that generation. His tender 
feelings of soul then melted in a most moving apostrophe: 
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem! thou that killest the prophets, 
and stonest them that are sent unto thee! How often 
would I have gathered thy children together, even as a 
hen gathereth her chickens under her wings; and ye 
would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. 
For I say unto you, ye shall not see me henceforth, till 
ye shall say, "Blessed is he that cometh in the name of 
the Lord." Upon this our Savior left the temple. The 
disciples took an occasion to speak to Christ of the mag- 
nificence of the sacred edifice; how it was adorned with 
goodly stones and gifts. "Master, [said they,] see what 
manner of stones and buildings are here." "Jesus said 
unto them; See ye not all these things? Verily, I say 
unto you, there §hall not be left here one stone upon 
another, that shall not be thrown down." How very un- 
likely must such an event have seemed! But it was in- 
deed fulfilled upon that generation. 

Jesus and his disciples retired to the Mount of Olives. 
Here the temple rose before them in all its majestic 
elegance. The surrounding scenery naturally suggest- 
ed the conversation which followed. The disciples pe- 
titioned; — "Tell us, when shall these things be? and 
what shall be the sign when all these things shall be 
fulfilled?" Their minds seem to have been impressed 
with the preceding discourse; and they iell most readi- 
ly upon the same subject, and wished to know when 
such awful events should come; and what warning should 
announce their approach. Our Lord replied; "Take 
heed that no man deceive you; for many shall come in 
my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many." 



DESTRUCTION OP JERUSALEM. 221 

As though he had said; This shall be one signal token of 
the event, both as my denunciations relate to a primary 
accomplishment in the destruction of Jerusalem, and to 
a more general and dreadful fulfilment in the destruction 
of Antichrist in the last days. Impostors shall abound. 
False religionists shall deceive and ruin many. Let us 
trace the fulfilment of this and several succeeding pre- 
dictions. 

This was fulfilled in relation to Jerusalem. Not long 
after Christ's ascension, the Samaritan Dositheus ap- 
peared and declared himself the Messiah predicted by 
Moses. Simon Magus also declared himself" The Great 
Power of God.''^ Soon after, another impostor appeared 
from the mongrel Samaritans. The church has ever 
been annoyed by such kind of Samaritans, who have 
ever been fruitful in vile impostors, crying " Lo, here; 
and lo, there." This impostor promised to exhibit to the 
people sacred utensils said to be deposited by Moses in 
Mount Gerizim. Here a new decision must be given 
from heaven, to the question between the Jews and Sa- 
maritans, as to the place of worship; a thing of which 
schismatics have ever been exceedingly fond; to derive 
some new light on their party question directly from 
above; as though decisions already given were insuffi- 
cient. 

Armed multitudes sallied forth to follow this Messiah, 
confident their great deliverer had at last made his ap- 
pearance. But Pilate, the Roman Governor, checked 
their fanaticism with the sword, and put their fancied 
Messiah to death. 

Another impostor, Theudas, arose. He had the address 
to persuade multitudes to follow him into the wilderness, 
under his promise that he would cause the river Jordan 
:o divide. The^^ Roman procurator, Fadus, with a troop 
of horse, pursued them; slew the impostor, and many 
others; and dispersed the faction. Deceivers, under the 
government of Felix, were multiplied, leading off people 
into the wilderness under the promise and fanatic -l ex- 
pectation that they should there see signs and wonders. 
The old serpent often leads fanatical people into wilder- 
nesses of error and delusion, under similar expectations. 
The vigilant eye of the Roman governor rested on these 



222 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

impostors, and was sure to frustrate their designs, as oft 
as they appeared. 

In the year 55, arose a notable Egyptian impostor, 
named Felix. Thirty thousand followed him, under the 
persuasion that from mount Olivet they should see the 
walls of Jerusalem fall to the ground at his command, for 
their easy capture of the Roman garrison there; and 
their taking possession of Jerusalem. They were at- 
tacked by the Roman governor; four hundred were slain, 
and the rest dispersed. The Egyptian impostor escaped 
for his life. In the year 60, another pretended Messiah, 
appeared, engaging to break the Roman yoke, if they 
would follow him into the wilderness; but the deceiver 
and his followers soon fell a sacrifice to the vigilance of 
Festus, the governor. It would be too unwieldy to men- 
tion all the vile impostors of this period. They were a 
just retribution of righteous Heaven upon the Jews, for 
having rejected and put to death the true Messiah: and 
they fulfilled the warning given by our Lord, of a host of 
deceivers at that period. How prone are men to court 
deception. Christ had said to the Jews, " I am come in 
my Father's name, and ye receive me not. If another 
should come in his own name, him will ye receive." This 
was fulfilled; and not only then, but in every age to this 
day. Those who give the best evangelical evidence of 
their being ambassadors of Christ, many will reject; 
while the confident and noisy claims of egotists are by 
them fully allowed. " As in water face answers to face; 
so the heart of man to man." 

Our Lord proceeds; "And ye shall hear of wars, and 
rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these 
things shall come to pass; but the end is not yet. For 
nation shall rise against nation; and kingdom against 
kingdom; and great earthquakes shall be in divers 
places, and famines, and pestilences; all these are the 
beginninor of sorrows." 

The portentous thunders of wars and rumors of wars 
may be said to have occupied most of the time from the 
death of our Savior, to the destruction of Jerusalem. 
The historic pages, which treat of these times, are stained 
with blood. A war between Herod and Aretas, king of 
Arabia, opened the bloody scene, after a short season of 



desthuction of Jerusalem. 223 

peace. In Seleucia, the Greeks and Syrians rose against 
the Jews, who fled thither from the pestilence in Baby- 
lon, and slew fifty thousand of them. Five years after, 
the Jews in Perea and people of Philadelphia contended 
about the limits of a city, when many of the Jews were 
slain. Four years after this, an insult being offered to 
the Jews within the precincts of the temple, by a Roman 
soldier; and being violently resented, a Roman force 
rushed upon them, which so terrified the Jews, that they 
fled in vast disorder, and ten thousand of them lost their 
lives in the streets. After another four years, the Jews 
ravaged the country of the Samaritans, in consequence 
of their having murdered a Galilean, who was going to 
keep the passover. Many were slain. Soon after, a 
contention arose between the Jews in Csesarea and the 
Syrians, relative to the government of Csesarea. In the 
first encounter more than twenty thousand Jews were 
slain. This contention raged in many cities where the 
Jews and Syrians dwelt; and mutual slaughter prevailed. 
And in five other cities the carnage among the Jews was 
dreadful. At Damascus ten thousand Jews were slain 
in one hour. And at Scythopolis thirteen thousand were 
slain in one night. In Alexandria the Jews rose upon 
the Romans; and had fifty thousand of their people slain, 
without any regard to infancy or age. Soon after, in a 
contention at Totapata, forty thousand Jews perished. 
These contentions rose and increased, till the whole 
Jewish nation took up arms against the Romans, and 
brought on themselves their final destruction. Thus the 
prediction of our Savior quoted, received in those days a 
striking primary fulfilment. 

Our Savior added; " x4.nd great earthquakes shall be 
in divers places." These significant warnings too were 
accomplished in those days. Two are recorded by Ta- 
citus; one at Rome in the reign of Claudius; another at 
Apamea, in Syria, where were many Jews. So destruc^ 
tive was th« one at the latter place, that the tribute due 
to the Romans was for five years remitted. One also 
was terrific at Crete; one at Smyrna; one at Miletus; 
one at Chios, and one at Samos; in all which places 
Jews dwelt. These are noted by Philostratus. Soon 
after, in the reign of Nero, both Tacitus and Eusebios 



224 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

inform, that Hierapolis and Colosse, as well a Laodicea, 
were overthrown by earthquakes. Another is noted at 
Rome; one at Campania; and others as tremendous are 
mentioned as taking place at Jerusalem in the night, just 
before the commencement of the last siege of that city. 
Of these, Josephus gives the following account: "A 
heavy storm burst on them, during the night; violent 
winds arose, with most excessive rains, with constant 
lightning, most tremendous thunders, and dreadful roar- 
ings of earthquakes. It seemed as if the system of the 
world had been confounded for the destruction of man- 
kind. And one might well conjecture that these were 
signs of no common event." 

The famines predicted by Christ were likewise fulfilled. 
The one foretold by Agabus, noted in the Acts of the 
Apostles, was dreadful and of long continuance. It ex- 
tended through Greece and Italy; but was most severely 
felt at Judea, and especially at Jerusalem. The contri- 
butions noted as brought by Paul from abroad, to relieve 
the poor brethren there, were sent during this sore fam- 
ine. Authors of that time mention two other famines in 
the empire, previous to the one occasioned by the siege 
of Jerusalem. 

" Pestilences" too, the Savior, adds. Two instances 
of this signal judgment took place before the last Jewish 
war. The one took place at Babylon, where many Jews 
resided; the other at Rome, which swept off vast multi- 
tudes. Other lighter instances of this calamity occurred, 
in various parts of the empire; as both Tacitus and 
Suetonius record. 

Our Lord also adds, "And fearful sights and great 
signs shall there be from heaven." Josephus [who can 
never be suspected of wishing to favor any prediction of 
Christ; and who probably knew not of any such predic- 
tion, when he wrote,] gives accounts of events, which 
strikin2;ly answer to this premonition. Speaking of the 
infatuation of his coun*rymen, in running after impostors, 
while they neglected the plainest admonitions from hea- 
ven, he gives account of the seven following events; 

1. He says; "On the 8th of the month Zanthicus, 
[before the feast of unleavened bread,] at the ninth hour 
of the night, there shone round about the altar and the 



DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 225 

circumjacent buildings of the temple, a light equal to the 
brightness of the day; which continued for the space of 
half an hour." 

2. •' About the sixth hour of the night, [says Jose- 
phus,] the eastern gate of the temple was found to open 
without human assistance." This gate was of solid 
brass; and so large and heavy, as to require twenty men 
to close it. And Josephus says, " it was secured by 
iron bolts, and bars, that were let down into a large 
threshold consisting of one entire stone." The Jews 
themselves concluded, from the miraculous nature of this 
event, that the security of their temple had fled. When 
the procurator was informed of it, he sent a band of men 
to close the door; who with great difficulty executed 
their orders. 

3. Again, the same celebrated Jewish author says: 
" At a subsequent feast of Pentecost, while the priests 
were going by night into the inner temple, to perform 
their customary ministrations, they first felt, as they 
said, a shaking accompanied by an indistinct murmur- 
ing; and afterwards voices as of a multitude, saying in 
a distinct and earnest manner: " Let us depart hence." 
How striking was this miraculous premonition. It com- 
menced with a shaking, to call and fix the attention of 
these Jewish priests. Then was heard an indistinct mur- 
mur. This would make them listen with all possible 
heed. Then they heard the distinct voices, as of a mul- 
titude in great earnestness and haste; — ''Let us depart 
hence! " And their last fatal war with the Romans com- 
menced before the next season for celebrating this feast. 

4. Another sign was the following. The same author 
says; " A meteor, resembling a sword, hung over Jeru- 
salem, during one whole year." This could not have 
been a comet, for it was stationary a whole year, and 
seems, from the words of Josephus, to have been much 
nearer than a comet, and appeared to be appropriated 
to that city. This reminds one of the sword of the de- 
stroying angel, stretched out over Jerusalem, (1 Chro. 
xxi. 16.) This stationary position of the sword for a year, 
was a lively indication that the impending ruin was fatal. 

5. Josephus says again, "As the high priests were 
leading a heifer to the ahar to be sacrificed, she 



226: LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

brought forth a lamb in the midst of the temple." Most 
striking reproof to those infidel priests who had rejected 
the Lamb of God who had shed his blood once for all, 
and abrogated the Levitical sacrifices; which yet they 
were impiously continuing. This wonder was exhibited 
in the temple, the type of the body of Christ, and at the 
passover, when at a preceding passover Jesus was ar- 
rested and sacrificed; and it took place before the high 
priests and their attendants, so that they could never 
complain for want of evidence of the fact. 

6. This author says: "Soon after the feast of the 
passover, in various parts of the country, before the 
setting of the sun, chariots and armed men were seen 
in the air passing round about Jerusalem." This 
strange sight occurring before sunset, and being seen 
in various parts of the country, must have been a mirac- 
ulous portent; a sign from heaven. The Jews had 
said, "What sign showest thou, that we may see and 
believe." Now they had their signs in abundance; yet 
they would not believe. 

7. The last and most fearful sign, Josephus relates; that 
one Jesus, son of Ananus, a rustic of the lower class, 
appeared in the temple at the feast of tabernacles, and 
suddenly exclaimed, "^^ voice from the east — a voice 
from the west — a voice from the four winds — a voice 
against Jerusalem and the temple — a voice against the 
brtdescroom and the brides — a voice ao'ainst the ivhole 
people!" These words he continued to exclaim through 
the streets of Jerusalem by day and by night, with no 
cessation, [unless what was needed for the support of 
.nature,] for seven years! He commenced in the year 
63, while the city was in peace and prosperity, and ter- 
minated his exclamations only in his death, amidst the 
horrors of the siege, in the year 70. This strange 
thing, when it commenced, soon excited great attention, 
and this Jesus was brought before Albinus, the Roman 
governor, who interrogated him, but could obtain no 
answer except the continuation of his woes. He com- 
manded him to be scourged, but to no effect. During 
times of festivals, this cry of his was peculiarly loud 
and urgent. After the commencement of the siege, he 
ascended the walls, and in a voice still more tremendous 



DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 227 

than ever, he exclaimed, " Wo, wo to this city, this tem- 
ple, and this people!^' And he then added, [for the first 
time for the seven years,] " Wo, wo to myself P^ The 
words were no sooner uttered, than a stone from a 
Roman machine without the walls, struck him dead on 
the spot! 

Such were the signs in the heavens and in the earth, 
which just preceded the destruction of Jerusalem. Sev- 
eral of them are recorded by Tacitus as well as by Jo- 
sephus. The veracity of Josephus as a historian is 
probably allowed by all. Scaliger affirms that he deserves 
more ci"edit as a writer than all the Greek and Roman 
historians put together. 

From the conquest of Jerusalem by Pompey, sixty 
years before Christ, the Jews repeatedly had exhibited 
a most rebellious spirit against the Romans. The Jews 
had basely said to Pilate concerning Christ, " If thou 
let this man go, thou art not a friend to Csesar." But 
the fact was, they persecuted Christ because he would 
not erect a temporal throne in opposition to Ccesar. 
Any impostor who seemed prepared to do this, they 
were ready to follow; and were ready to improve every 
apparent occasion to evince their decided hostility to 
the Romans. And they hardly needed a prophet's eye 
to discern that this spirit and conduct, manifested on 
all occasions, would soon draw against them the Roman 
sword, 

Judas, a Gaulonite, and Suddue, a Pharisee, had ral- 
lied the Jews M'ith the idea that their paying tribute to 
the Romans would not fail to^ confirm them in the most 
abject slavery; in consequence of which their enmity 
often burst forth with malignant violence. Tumults and 
riots increased; and Florus, the Roman governor of 
Judea, by his cruel exactions, increased this spirit 
amonaj the Jews. Eleazer, son of the high priest, per- 
suaded the officers of the temple to reject the offerings 
of foreigners, and to withhold public prayers for them. 
The Roman government felt the insult; and a basis was 
soon found to be laid for a Roman war. Feuds and 
contentions increased in Judea, till Cestius Gallus 
marched an army thither from Syria to restore order. 
His march was marked with blood and desolation. The 



228 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

city of Zebulon, Joppa, and other villages in his way, he 
plundered and burned. Eight thousand four hundred of 
the inhabitants of the former place he slew. The dis- 
trict of Narbatene he laid waste, and slew two thousand 
of the Jews in Galilee; reduced the city of Lydda to 
ashes, and drove the Jews, [who made desperate sallies 
upon him,] till he encamped within a hundred miles of 
the capital. Soon after, he entered Jerusalem, and 
burned some part of the city. But through the treachery 
of his own officers, he made an unexpected flight. The 
enraged Jews pursued him, and slew about sixty thou- 
sand of his men. Many of the rich Jews, alarmed at 
the Roman invasion, fled from Jerusalem, as from a 
foundering ship. Some suppose many of the Chris- 
tians now fled to a place called Pella, in the mountains 
of Judea. 

Nero, the emperor of Rome, being informed of the 
defeat of Cestius, gave the command to Vespasian to 
press the war against the rebellious Jews. He and his 
son Titus soon collected an army of sixty thousand men. 
In A. D. 67, he marched from Ptolemais to Judea, mark- 
ing his steps with ravages and desolation. Infancy and 
age fell before the furious soldiery. All the strong 
towns of Galilee and many of those of Judea, fell before 
the victorious arms of Vespasian, who slew not less than 
one hundred and fifty thousand inhabitants. Signal 
vengeance was taken on Joppa, which had in part been 
rebuilt, after it had been by Cestius reduced to ashes. 
Vespasian was enraged at the frequent piracies of this 
people. The Jews of this place fleeing before him, 
betook themselves to their shipping. But a furious 
tempest overtook those who stood out to sea, and they 
were lost. The others were dashed vessel against ves- 
sel, or against the rocks. Some in their distress laid 
violent hands on themselves. Such as reached the 
shore were slain by the enraged Romans. The sea for 
some distance was stained with their blood. Forty 
thousand are said to have been swallowed up in the 
waves, and not one escaped* to relate their catastrophe. 
Truly this was "distress of their nation, with the sea 
and the waves thereof roaring!" 

Vespasian returned from Jericho to Csesarea, to pre- 



DESTRUCTION OP JERUSALEM. 2t9 

pare for a grand siege of Jerusalem. Here he received 
intelligence of the death of the emperor Nero. This 
led him to suspend for the present the execution of his 
plan against the Jews. This respite to that devoted 
people continued about two years, and but encouraged 
them to deeds of greater enormity. 

A spirit of faction now appeared in Jerusalem Two 
parties first, and afterwards three, raged there; each 
contending with deadly animosity for the precedence. 
A part of one of these factions having been excluded 
from the city, entered it by force during the night; and 
to such madness were they abandoned, that they butch- 
ered on that fatal night not less than eight thousand five 
hundred men, women and children, whose mangled 
bodies appeared the next morning, strewed in the streets 
of Jerusalem. These abandoned murderers plundered 
in the city, murdered the high priests, Ananus and Jesus, 
and insulted their dead bodies. They slew their breth- 
ren of Jerusalem as though they had been wild animals. 
They scourged and imprisoned the nobles, in hopes to 
terrify them to become of their party; and many who 
could not be thus won, they slew. In this reign of ter- 
ror, twelve thousand of the higher orders of the people 
thus perished; and no relative dared to shed a mourning 
tear, lest this should bring on them a similar fate. 
Accusation and death became the most common events. 
Many fled, but were intercepted and slain. Piles of 
their carcasses lay on the public roads; and all pity, as 
well as regard for human or divine authority, seemed 
extinguished. 

To add to the horrid calamities of the times occasioned 
by the bloody factions, Judea was infested by bands of 
robbers and murderers, plundering their towns and 
cutting in pieces such as made any resistance, whether 
men, women or children. Here were exhibited the 
most horrid pictures of what fallen man is capable of 
perpetrating when restraints are taken off; that they 
would turn their own towns and societies into scenes of 
horror like kennels of wild animals. 

One Simon became commander of one of the factions; 
John of another. Simon entered Jerusalem at the head 
of forty thousand banditti. A third faction rose: and 



230 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

discord blazed with terrific fury. The three factions 
were intoxicated with rage and desperation, and went 
on slaying and trampling on piles of the dead, with an 
indescribable fury. People coming to the temple to 
worship, were murdered, both natives and foreigners. 
Their bodies lay in piles, and a collection of blood defil- 
ed the sacred courts. 

John of Gischala, head of a faction, burned a store of 
provisions. Simon, at the head of another faction, burn- 
ed another. Thus the Jews were weakening and de- 
stroying themselves, and preparing the way for "wrath 
to come upon them to the uttermost." 

In the midst of these most dismal events, an alarm 
was made that a Roman army was approaching the city. 
Vespasian becoming emperor, and learning the factious 
and horrid state of the Jews, determined to prosecute 
the war against them, and sent his son Titus to reduce 
Jerusalem and Judea. The Jews, on hearing of the 
approach of the Roman army, were petrified with hor- 
ror. They could have no hope of peace. They had no 
means of flight. They had no time for counsel. They 
had no confidence in each other. What could be done? 
Several things they possessed in abundance. They had 
a measure of iniquity filled up ; a full ripeness for de- 
struction. All seemed wild disorder and despair. Noth- 
ing could be imagined but the confused noise of the war- 
rior, and garments rolled in blood. They knew nothing 
was their due from the Romans but exemplary ven- 
geance. The ceaseless cry of combatants, and the hor- 
rors of faction had induced some to desire the interven- 
tion of a foreign foe to give them deliverance from their 
domestic horrors. Such was the state of Jerusalem 
when Titus appeared before it with a besieging army. 
But he came not to deliver it from its excruciating tor- 
tures; but to execute upon it divine vengeance; to fulfil 
the fatal predictions of our Lord Jesus Christ, that 
*'when ye see the abomination of desolation standing 
in the holy place — when you see Jerusalem compassed 
about with armies — then know that the desolation there- 
of is nigh." "Wheresoever the carcass is, there shall 
the eagles be gathered together." Jerusalem was now 
the carcass to be devoured; the Roman eagles had 
arrived to tear it as their prey. 



DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 231 

The day on which Titus had encompassed Jerusalem 
was the feast of the passover. Here let it be remember- 
ed, that it was the time of this feast, on a 1)receding 
occasion, that Christ was taken, condemned and exe- 
cuted. It was at the time of this feast, that the heifer, 
in the hands of the "feacrificing priests, brought forth a 
lamb. And just after this feast at another time, that the 
miraculous besieging armies were seen over Jerusalem, 
just before sunset. And now, at the time of the pass- 
over, the antitype of this prodigy appears in the besieg- 
ing army of Titus. MuUitudes of Jews had convened 
at Jerusalem from surrounding nations to celebrate this 
feast. Ah, miserable people! going with intent to feed 
on the paschal lamb ; but really to their own final slaugh- 
ter, for rejecting "the Lamb of God who taketh away 
the sins of the world!" The Jews had imprecated the 
blood of the true Paschal Lamb, [by them wantonly 
shed,] on themselves and on their children. God was 
now going in a signal manner to take them at their 
word. He hence providentially collected their nation, 
under sentence of death, as into a great prison, for the 
day of execution. And as their execution of Christ was 
signal, low, degrading, the death of the cross; so their 
execution should be signal and dreadful. The falling 
city was now crowded with little short of two millions of 
that devoted people. The event came suddenly and un- 
expectedly to the Jews, as the coming of a thief, and 
almost like lightning. Josephus notes this, and thus 
without design, shows the fulfilment of these hints of 
Christ, that his coming should be like a thief in the 
night, and like lightning shining under the whole 
heavens. 

The furious contending factions of the Jews, on find- 
ing themselves environed with the Roman armies, laid 
aside, for the moment, their party contentions, sallied 
out, rushed furiously on their common foe, and came 
near utterly destroying the tenth legion of the Roman 
army. This panic among the Romans occasioned a 
short suspension of hostilities. Some new confidence 
hence inspired the hopes of the Jews; and they now 
determined to defend their city. But being a little 
released from their terrors of the Romans, their factious 



282 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

resentments again rekindled, and broke out in great fury. 
The faction under Eleazer was swallowed up in the 
other two, under John and Simon. Slaughter, confla- 
gration and plunder ensued. A portion of the centre of 
the city was burned, and the inhabitants became as 
prisoners to the two furious parties* The Romans here 
saw their own proverb verified: " Qitos Deus vult perdere 
prius dementat.'^ "Whom God will destroy, he gives 
up to madness." 

The invading armies knew how to profit by the mad- 
ness of the Jews. They were soon found by the Jews 
to have possession of the two outer walls of their city. 
This alarm reached the heart of the factions, and once 
more united them against the common enemy. But they 
had already proceeded too far to retreat from the effects 
of their madness. Famine, with its ghastly horrors, 
stared them in the face. It had, as might be expected, 
been making a silent approach; and some of the more 
obscure had already fallen before it. But even this did 
not annihilate the fury of faction, which again returned 
with redoubled fury, and presented new scenes of wo. 
As the famine increased, the sufferers would snatch 
bread from each other's mouths, and devour their grain 
unprepared. To discover handfuls of food, tortures 
were inflicted. Food was violently taken by husbands 
from wives, and wives from husbands; and even by 
mothers from their famishing infants. The breast itself 
was robbed from the famishing suckling, as our Lord 
denounced: "Wo to them that give suck in those 
days." 

This terror produced a new scene of righteous retri- 
bution. Multitudes of the Jews were forced by hunger 
to flee to the enemy's camp. Here, instead of pitying 
and relieving them, the Romans cut off the hands of 
many, and sent them back; but most of them they cru- 
cified as fast as they could lay their hands on them; till 
wood was wanting for crosses, and space on which to 
erect them. Behold here thousands of those despairing 
Jews suspended on crosses round' the walls of Jerusa- 
lem! Verily, the Lord is known by the judgments that 
he executeth!" Yea, this did not suffice. Behold two 
thousand Jews who had fled to the mercy of their invad- 



DESTRUCTION OP JERUSALEM. 233 

ers, ripped open alive [two thousand in one night!] by 
Arabs and Syrians in the Roman armies, in hopes of 
finding gold, which these Jews had [or their enemies 
fancied they had] swalloived, to carry off with them! 

Titus being a merciful general, was touched to the 
heart at the miseries of the Jews; and in person he ten- 
derly entreated the besieged to surrender. But all the 
answer he obtained for his tenderness was base revilings. 
He now resolved to make thorough work with this obsti- 
nate people ; and hence surrounded the city with a circum- 
vallation of thirty-nine furlongs in length, strengthened 
with thirteen towers. This by the astonishing activity 
of the soldiers, was effected in three days. Then was 
fulfilled this prediction of our blessed Lord, " Thine 
enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and keep thee in 
on every side." 

As the city was now cut off from all possible supplies, 
famine became more dreadful. Whole families fell a 
sacrifice to it; and the dead bodies of women, children, 
and the aged, were seen covering roofs of houses, and 
various recesses. Youth, and the middle aged, appeared 
like spectres; and fell many of them dead in public 
places. The dead became too numerous to be interred. 
Many died while attempting to perform this office. So 
great and awful became the calamities, that lamentation 
ceased, and an awful silence of despair overwhelmed the 
city. But all this failed of restraining the more aban- 
doned from most horrid deeds. They took this opportu- 
nity to rob the tombs; and with loud, infernal laughter, 
to strip the dead of their habiliments of death; and 
would try the edge of their swords on dead bodies, and 
on some while yet breathing. Simon Georas now vent- 
ed his rage against Matthias, the high priest, and his 
three sons. He caused them to be condemned, as though 
favoring the Romans. The father asked the favor to be 
first executed, and not see the death of his sons; but the 
malicious Simon reserved him for the last execution. 
And as he was expiring, he put the insulting question, 
whether the Romans could now relieve him.? 

Things being thus, one Mannaeus, a Jew, escaped tt3 
Titus, and informed him of the consummate wretched- 
ness of the Jews; that in less than three months, one 
16 



234 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

hundred and fifteen thousand and eight hundred dead 
bodies of Jews had been conveyed through one gate, 
under his care and register: and he assured him of the 
ravages of famine and death. Other deserters confirm- 
ed the account, and added, that not less than six hundred 
thousand dead bodies of Jews had been carried out 
at different gates. The humane heart of Titus was 
deeply affected; and he, under those accounts, and 
while surveying the piles of dead bodies of Jews under 
the walls, and in the visible parts of the city, raised his 
eyes and hands to heaven in solemn protestation, that he 
would have prevented these dire calamities; that the 
obstinate Jews had procured them upon their own 
heads. 

Josephus, the Jew, now earnestly entreated the leader^ 
John, and his brethren, to surrender to the Romans, and 
thus save the residue of the Jews. But he received in 
return nothing but insolent reproaches and imprecations; 
John declaring his firm persuasion that God would never 
suffer his own city, Jerusalem, to be taken by the ene- 
my ! Alas, had he forgotten the history of his own na- 
.tion, and the denunciations of the prophets .'' Micah, the 
Moor, had foretold that in this very calamity they would 
presumptuously "lean upon the Lord, and say, Is not 
the Lord among us? No evil shall come upon us.'' So 
blind and presumptuous are hypocrisy and self confidence! 
" The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the 
temple of the Lord, are these." 

The famine in the city became, as might be expected, 
still more deadly. For want of food the Jews ate their 
belts, sandals, skins of their shields, dried grass, and 
even ordure of cattle. JYoiv it ivas that a noble Jewess, 
urged by the insufferable pangs of hunger, sleiv and pre' 
pared for food her own infant child ! She had eaten half 
the horrible preparation, when the smell of food brought 
in a horde of soldiery, who threatened her with instant 
death, if she did not produce to them the food she had in 
possession. She being thus compelled to obey, produced 
the remaining half of her child! The soldiers stood 
aghast; and the recital petrified the hearers with hor- 
ror; and congratulations were poured on those whose 
eyes death had closed upon such horrid scenes. Human- 



jIB 



I 



DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 235 

ity seems ready to sink at the recital of the woful events 
of that day. No words can reach the horrors of the sit- 
uation of the female part of the community at that peri- 
od. Such scenes force upon our recollection the tender 
pathetic address of our Saviour to the pious females who 
followed him, going to the cross : "Daughters of Jeru- 
salem, weep not for me ; but weep for yourselves and 
for your children ; for behold the days are coming, in 
which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the 
wombs that never bare, and the breasts that never gave 
suck." Moses had long predicted this very scene. — 
*'The tender and delicate woman among you, (said he,) 
who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the 
ground for delicateness ; her eye shall be evil towards 
her young one, and toward her children, which she shall 
bare ; for she shall eat them, for want of all things, se- 
cretly in the siege and straitness wherewith thine ene- 
my shall distress thee in thy gates." Probably the his- 
tory of the world will not afford a parallel to this, God 
prepared peculiar judgments for peculiarly horrid crimes! 
*''These be the days of vengeance; that all things that 
are written may be fulfilled." Josephus declares, that 
if there had not been many credible witnesses of that aw- 
ful fact, he never would have recorded it; for, said he, 
"such a shocking violation of nature never has been per- 
petrated by any Greek or barbarian." 

While famine thus spread desolation, the Romans finally 
succeeded in removing part of the inner wall, and in pos- 
sessing themselves of the high and commanding tower of 
Antonia, which seemed to overlook the temple. Titus with 
his counsel of war had formed a determination to save the 
temple, to grace his conquest, and remain an ornament to 
his empire. But God had not so determined. And 
"though there be many devices in man's heart; neverthe- 
less, the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand." A Roman 
soldier, violating the general order of Titus, succeeded in 
hurling a brand of fire into the golden window of the 
temple ; and soon [as righteous heaven would have it !] the 
sacred edifice was in flames. The Jews perceiving this, 
rushed with horrid outcries to extinguish the fire. Titus, 
too, flew to the spot in his chariot, with his chief officers 
and legions. With loud command, and every token of 



236 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

anxiety, he enforced the extinguishing of the fire ; but in 
vain. So great was the confusion, that no attention was 
paid to him. His soldiers, deaf to all cries, assiduous- 
ly spread the flames far and wide ; rushing at the same 
time on the Jews, sword in hand, slaying and trampling 
down, or crushing them to death against the walls. Many 
were plunged into the flames, and perished in the burning 
of the out buildings of the temple. The fury of the Ro- 
man soldiers, slaughtered the poor, the unarmed, and the 
rich, as well as men in arms. Multitudes of dead bodies 
were piled round about the altar, to which they had fled for 
protection. The way leading to the inner court was del- 
uged with blood. 

Titus, finding the fire had not yet reached the inner 
temple, entered it with his superior officers, and surveyed 
its magnificence with silent admiration. He found it to 
exceed all he had heard. This view led him to renew his 
efforts to save this stupendous pile of building, though so 
many of the out buildings were gone. He even entreated 
his soldiers to extinguish the flames, and appointed an of- 
ficer to punish any who should disobey. But all his re- 
newed efforts were still in vain. The feelings of his sol- 
diery were utterly unmanageable. Plunder, revenge and 
slaughter had combined to render them deaf and most fu- 
rious. A soldier succeeded in firing the door posts of the 
inner temple, and the conflagration soon became general. 

One needs a heart of steel to contemplate the scene 
which followed. The triumphant Roman soldiers were in 
a most ungovernable rage and fury. They were in- 
deed instruments prepared for their work, to execute the 
most signal vengeance of Heaven ; the flame of which was 
now reaching its height ! The Romans slew of the Jews 
all before them : sparing neither age, sex or rank. They 
seemed determined to annihilate the Jewish i^ace on the 
spot. Priests and common people — those who surren- 
dered, and those who still fought — all were alike subjects of 
an indiscriminate slaughter. The fire of the temple at 
length completely enveloped the stupendous pile of build- 
ing. The fury of the flames exceeded description. It im- 
pressed on distant spectators an idea that the whole city 
was in flames. The ensuing disorder and tumult, Jose- 
phus pronounces to have been such as to baffle all descrip- 



DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 237 

tion. The outcry of the Roman legions was as great as 
they could make. And the Jews, finding themselves a 
prey to the fury of both fire and sword, exerted themselves 
in the wildest accents of screaming. The people in the 
city, and those on the hill, mutually responded to each 
other in groans and screeches. People who had seemed 
just expiring through famine, derived new strength from 
unprecedented scenes of horror and death, to deplore their 
wretchedness. From mountain to mountain, and from 
places distant, lamentations echoed to each other. 

As the temple was sinking under the fury of the raging 
element, the mount on which it stood seemed in that part 
of it, [says the historian,] to " impress the idea of a lake 
of liquid fire !" The blood of the slain ran in rivulets. — 
The earth around became covered with the slain; and the 
victorious Romans trampled over those piles of the dead, 
in pursuit of the thousands who were fleeing from the 
points of their swords. In a word, the roar and crackling 
of fire ; the shrieks of thousands in despair ; the dying 
groans of thousands, and the sights which met the eye 
wherever it was turned, were such as never before had 
any parallel on earth. They probably as much exceeded 
all antecedent scenes of horror, as the guilt which occa- 
sioned them, in their treatment of the Lord of Glory, ex- 
ceeded all guilt ever before known among men. 

A tragical event had transpired worthy of particular 
detail. Before the temple was wrapped in flames, an im- 
postor appeared among the Jews, asserting a divine com- 
mission; and that if the people would follow him to the 
temple, they would see signs, wonders and deliverance. 
About six thousand, mostly women and children, fol- 
lowed him, and were in the galleries of the temple, wait- 
ing for this promised deliverance, when fire was set to 
that building. Not one escaped. All were consumed 
in the conflagration of the sacred edifice! What multi- 
tudes are by false prophets plunged in eternal fire! 

The place of the temple now presented a vast pile of 
ruins. Here terminated the glory and existence of this 
stupendous building, this type of the body of Christ and 
of his church; this type of the Millennium, and of 
heaven. Here it reached its close, after the period of 
one thousand and thirty years, from the time of its dedi» 



ISS LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

iation by Solomon; and of six hundred and thirty-nine 
/ears, from its being rebuilt in the days of Haggai, after 
he seventy years captivity. It is singular, that it should 
be reduced to ashes not only soon after the feast of the 
passover, which convened so m;iny thousands of Jews to 
Jerusalem to meet the ruins of their city and nation; 
but that it should be consumed on the same month, on 
the same day of the month, on which the Babylonians 
had before destroyed it by fire. 

Josephus records another striking event, which seemed 
a sign of the destruction of Jerusalem. He says: [ad- 
dressing the Jews who survived this ruin] "The foun- 
tains flow copiously for Titus, which to you were dried 
up. For before he came, you know that both Siloam and 
all the springs without the city failed; so that water was 
brought by the amphora, [a vessel.] But now they are 
so abundant to your enemies, as to suffice for themselves 
and their cattle. This wonder you also formerly experi- 
enced, when the king of Babylon laid siege to your 
city." 

The priests of the temple, after the destruction of their 
sacred edifice, betook themselves — those who had thus 
far escaped the general slaughter — to the top of one of 
its broken walls, where they sat mourning and famishing. 
On the fifth day, necessity compelled them to descend, 
and humbly to ask pardon of the Roman general. But 
Titus at this late period rejected their pelition, saying; 
"As the temple, for the sake of which, I would have spared 
you, is destroyed: it is but fit the priests should perish 
also." All were put to death. 

The obstinate leaders of the great Jewish factions, be- 
holding now the desperateness of their cause, desired a 
conference with Titus. One would imagine they would 
at least now lay down their arms. Their desiring an in- 
terview with the triumphant Roman general, appeared as 
though they would be glad to do this. But righteous 
heaven designed their still greater destruction. Titus, 
afterall their mad rebellions, kindly offered to spare the 
residue pf the Jews, if they would now submit. But 
strange to relate, they refused to comply. The noble 
general then, as must have been expected, was highly 
exasperated; and issued his general order that he would 



DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 239 

grant no further pardon to the insurgents. His legions 
now were ordered to " ra'page and destroy.'' With the 
light of the next morning, arose the tremendous flame of 
the castle of Antohia, the council chamber, register's of- 
fice, and the noble palace of the Q,ueen Helena. These 
magnificent piles were reduced to ashes. The furious 
legions, [executioners of divine vengeance, Ezek. ix. 5, 
6,] then flew through the lower city, of which they soon 
became masters, slaughtering and burning in every 
street. The Joavs themselves aided the slaughter. In 
the royal palace, containing vast treasures, eight thou- 
sand four hundred Jews were murdered by their seditious 
brethren. Great numbers of deserters from the furious 
leaders of faction, flocked to the Romans; but it was 
too late. The general order was given, all should be 
slain. Such therefore fell. 

The Roman soldiers, however, being at length weary 
with butchery, and more than satisfied with blood, for a 
short time sheathed their swords, and betook themselves 
to plunder. They collected multitudes of Jews — -hus- 
bands, wives, children and servants, formed a market: 
and set them up at vendue for slaves. They sold them 
for any trifle; while purchasers were but few. Their 
law-giver, Moses, had forewarned them of this; Deut. 
xxviii. 68: "And ye shall be sold for bondmen and bond- 
women; and no man shall buy you." Tremendous in- 
deed must the lot of those be, who reject the Messiah, 
and are found fighting against the Son of God. Often 
had these Jews heard read [but little it seems did they 
understand the sense of the tremendous passage] relative 
to the Jewish rejectors of Christ, " He that sitteth in 
the Heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall have them in 
derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, 
and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my 
king upon my holy hill of Zion. Thou shalt break them 
with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a 
potter's vessel." "Thus saith the Lord, say, a sword, a 
sword is sharpened, and also furbished: it is sharpened to 
make a sore slaughter; it is furbished that it may glitter; 
[said God by the prophet., Ezek, xxi., alluding to this very 
event;] the sword is sharpened, and it is furbished to 
give it into the hand of the slayer. Cry and howl, son 



240 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

of man; smite upon thy thigh; smite thy hands together, 
and let the sword be doubled a third time; the sword of 
the slain. I have set the point of the sword against all 
their gates, that their hearts may faint, and their ruins 
be multiplied: Ah, it is made bright! it is wrapped up for 
the slaughter." Such, and much more, were the divine 
denunciations of this very scene, which the infidel Jews 
would not escape, but would incur! And even a merci- 
ful God shrunk not from the execution ! Let anti-Christian 
powers, yea, let all infidels and gospel despisers, consider 
this and tremble! 

The whole lower city now in the possession of the Ro- 
man legions, after the respite noted, was set on fire. But 
the insolence of the devoted Jews in a part of the higher 
city remained unabated. They even insulted and exaspe- 
rated their enemies, as though afraid the work of ven- 
geance might not be sufficiently executed. 

The Romans brought their engines to operate upon the 
walls of this higher branch of the city, still standing; which 
soon gave way before them. Before their demolition, Ti- 
tus reconnoitred the city, and its fortifications ; and ex- 
pressed his astonishment that it should ever fall before his 
arms. He exclaimed, " Had not God himself aided our 
operations, and driven the Jews from their fortresses, it 
would have been absolutely impossible to have taken them. 
For what could men and the force of engines have done 
against such towers as these ? " Yes, unless their Rock 
had sold them for their iniquities, no enemy could have 
prevailed against Jerusalem. Josephus, who was an eye 
witness of all the scene, says : " All the calamities, which 
ever befell any nation, since the beginning of the world, 
were inferior to the miseries of the Jews at this awful 
period." 

The upper city, too, fell before the victorious arms of 
the Roman conquerors. Titus would have spared all who 
had not been forward in resisting the Romans ; and gave 
his orders accordingly. But his soldiers, callous to all the 
feelings of humanity, slaughtered the aged and sick, as 
well as the mass of the people. The tall and most beauti- 
ful young men, however, were spared by Titus to grace his 
triumph at Rome. Of the rest, many above the age of 
seventeen were sent in chains to Egypt to be disposed of 



DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 241 

as slaves. Some were reserved to be sacrificed on their 
amphitheatres, as gladiators; to be slain in sham fights, for 
the sport of their conquerors. Others vi^ere distributed 
through the empire. All who survived, under the age of 
seventeen, were exposed for sale. 

The triumphant general commanded what remained of 
the city, to be razed to its foundation, except three of the 
most stately towers, Mariamne, Hippocos, and Phasael. 
These should stand as monuments of the magnificence of 
the place, and of his victory. A small part of the wall of 
the city at the west, also, he commanded should be spared, 
as a rampart for his garrison. The other parts of the city 
he wished to have so effectually erased, as never to be rec- 
ognized to have been inhabited. The Talmud and Mai- 
monides relate that the foundations of the "temple were so 
removed, that the site of it was ploughed by Terentus Ru- 
fus. Thus our Savior predicted, that "there should not 
be left one stone upon another." 

One awful occurrence is noted as transpiring during 
these scenes ; that eleven thousand Jews, under the guard 
of one Fronto, a Roman general, were, owing to their own 
obstinacy, and to the scarcity of provisions, literally 
starved to death ! 

Josephus informs that eleven hundred thousand Jews per- 
ished in this siege of Jerusalem , that two hundred and 
thirty-seven thousand perished in that last war in other 
sieges and battles : besides multitudes who perished by 
famine and pestilence : making a total of at least fourteen 
hundred thousand. Some hundreds of thousands, in sul- 
len despair, laid violent hands on themselves. About nine- 
ty-seven thousand were captured, and dispersed. Relative 
to the two great leaders of the Jewish factions, Simon and 
John, they were led to Rome, to grace the triumph of Ti- 
tus ; after which Simon was scourged, and executed as a 
malefactor; and John was committed for life to a dungeon. 
Thus ended their violent factious contentions. 

The Roman army, before they left Jerusalem, not only 
demolished the buildings there, but even dug up their foun- 
dations. How fatal was the divine judgment on this de- 
voted city. Five months before, it was the wonder of 
the world ; and contained, at the commencement of the 
siege, more than a million and a half of Jews, natives and 



242 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

visitors ; now it lay in total ruins, with not " one stone 
upon another ; " as Christ had denounced. These ruins 
Eusebius informs us, he beheld. And Eleazer is introduced 
by Josephus as exclaiming: "Where is our great city, 
which it was believed God inhabited." The prophet Mi- 
cah, a Moor, had predicted: "Therefore shall Zion for 
your sakes be ploughed as a field, and Jerusalem shall be- 
come heaps, and the mountain of the Lord's house as the 
high places of the forest." A captain of the army of Ti- 
tus, did, in fact, plough where some part of the foundation 
of the temple had stood, as the Talmud records, and thus 
fulfilled this prediction. 

Jesus Christ had foretold of this destruction, that " there 
should be great tribulation, such as was not since the be- 
ginning of the world." And of the event Josephus says • 
"If the misfortunes of all nations from the beginning of 
the world, were compared with those which befel the Jews, 
they would appear far less." Again; " No other city ever 
suffered such things ; as no other generation from the be- 
ginning of the world, was ever more fruitful in wicked- 
ness." 

Other parts of Judea were still to be subdued. Mache- 
rus was attacked. Seventeen hundred Jews surrendered 
and were slain ; also three thousand fugitives taken in the 
woods of Jardes. Titus at Csesarea celebrated in great 
splendor the birth day of his brother Domitian. Here a 
horrid scene, according to the bloody customs of those 
times, was presented. To grace this occasion, more than 
two thousand five hundred Jews fell ; some by burning — 
some by fighting with wild beasts — and some by mutual 
combat with the sword. 

Massada was besieged. The Jewish commander, in 
despair, induced the garrison first to destroy their stores, 
and then themselves. They (nine hundred and sixty in 
number) consented to the horrid proposal. Men, women, 
and children took their seats upon the ground, and of- 
fered their necks to the sword. Ten men were selected 
to executed the fatal deed. The dreadful work was done. 
One of the ten was then chosen to execute the nine, and 
then himself. The nine being put to death, and fire be- 
ing set to the place, the last man plunged his dagger 
into his own heart. 



DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 243 

Seven persons, [women and children,] found means to 
conceal themselves, and escape the ruin. When the 
Romans approached, these seven related to them these 
horrid events. 

Most of the remaining places now, through sullen de- 
spair, gave up all opposition, and submitted to the con-^ 
querors. Thus Judea became as a desolate wilderness; 
and the following passage in Isaiah had at least a prima- 
ry piccomplishment; " Until the cities be wasted without 
inhabitant; and the houses without man; and the land 
be utterly desolate; and the Lord have removed man 
far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of 
the land." 

A line of prophecies is found in the sacred oracles, 
which relate to a signal temporal destruction of the most 
notorious enemies of the kingdom of Jesus Christ. Those 
were to have a two fold accomplishment; first upon the 
Jews; and secondly upon the great Antichrist of the last 
days, typified by the infidel Jews. Accordingly those 
prophecies in the Old Testament are ever found in close 
connection with the Millennium. The predictions of our 
Savior, in Matt. xxiv. Mark xiii. and Luke xxi. are but 
anew edition of these sacred prophecies. This has been 
noted as " the destruction of the city and temple foretold.^* 
— It is also a denunciation of the destruction of the 
great Antichrist in the last days. The certainty of 
this will appear in the following things, as New Testa- 
ment writers decide. The Thessalonians, having heard 
what our Lord denounced, that all those things he had 
predicted should take place on that generation, were 
trembling with the apprehension, that the coming of Christ 
predicted, would then very soon burst upon the world. 
Paul writes to them, (2 Thes. ii.) and beseeches them by 
this coming of Christ, not to be shaken in mind, or trou- 
bled with such an apprehension. For that day, [that 
predicted coming of Christ, as it related to others beside 
the Jews,] was not to take place on that generation. It 
was not to come till the Antichristian apostacy came 
first ; that man of sin was first to be revealed. This long 
apostacy was to be accomplished before the noted coming 
of Christ in its more important sense be fulfilled. After 
the Roman government, which hindered the rise of the 



244 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

man of sin, should be taken out of the way, Paul says, 
*' Then shall that wicked one be revealed whom the Lord 
shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and destroy 
with the brightness of his coming." Here then, is the 
predicted coming of Christ, in its more interesting sense, 
in the battle of that great day, which introduces the Mil- 
lenium. Here is a full decision that these noted denun- 
ciations of Christ alluded more especially, though not 
primarily, to a coming which is still future. 

The same is decided by Christ himself, in Rev. xvi. 
After the sixth vial, in the drying up of the Turkish 
Euphrates, three unclean spirits of devils, like frogs, go 
forth to the kings of the earth, and of all the world, to 
gather them to the great battle. The awful account is 
interrupted by this notice from the mouth of Christ; verse 
15, "Behold, I come as 'a thief Blessed is he that 
watcheth and keepeth his garments; lest he walk naked, 
and they see his shame." This is as though our Lord 
should say; now the time is at hand, to which my pre- 
dictions of coming as a thief, principally alluded. Now 
is the time when my people on earth shall need to watch, 
as I directed, when predicting my coming to destroy first 
the type of Antichrist, and secondly the antitype. 

The predictions in the prophets, which, received an 
incipient fulfilment in the destruction of Jerusalem, were 
to receive a more interesting fulfilment in Christ's com- 
ing to destroy his antichristian foes. Hence it is that 
the seventh vial is called (Rev. xvi. 14,) " the battle of 
the great day of God Almighty;" clearly alluding to 
that great day noted through the prophets. And of the 
same event it is said, Rev. x. 7; "the mystery of God 
shall be finished, as he hath declared to his servants, the 
prophets." Here again the allusion clearly is to the 
many predictions in the prophets of the destruction of the 
enemies of Christ's kingdom, which were to receive an 
incipient fulfilment in the destruction of Jerusalem; and 
a far more interesting one, in the sweeping from the 
earth the last antichristian powers, to introduce the mil- 
lennial kingdom of Christ. We accordingly find those 
predictions through the prophets clearly alluding to the 
last days, and the introduction of the Millennium. 

Viewing the destruction of Jerusalem then, as but a 



DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 245 

type of an event now pending upon antichristian nations, 
we peruse it with new interest; and it must be viewed 
in the light of a most impressive warning to this age of 
the world. The factions, madness, and self-ruin of the 
former, give but a lively practical comment upon the va- 
rious predictions of the latter. Three great and noted 
factions introduced the destruction of Jerusalem. And 
of the destruction of Antichrist we read [perhaps alluding 
to that very circumstance] Rev. xvi. 19; "And the great 
city was divided into three parts." Then it follows; 
" and the cities of the nations fell; and great Babylon 
came in remembrance before God to give unto her the 
cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath." In the de- 
solation of Gog and his bands, faction draws the sword of 
extermination. " I will call for a sword against him 
throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord God; every 
man's sword shall be against his brother." (Ezek. xxxviii. 
21.) 

The great coalition against the Jews, in the time 
of Jehoshaphat, was destroyed by the sword of mutiny 
and faction: (See 2 Chron. xx.) And in allusion to this 
very battle which God fought for his church, the vast 
coalitions of Antichrist, in the last days, when the Jews 
are restored, is said to be gathered " to the valley of 
Jehoshaphat:" (See Joel iii.) The various circumstan- 
ces of the destruction of Jerusalem afforded a lively in- 
cipient comment on the many denunciations of the battle 
of that great day of God Almighty, which awaits the an- 
tichristian world; while it is fully evident, that the pas- 
sages more especially allude to the tremendous scenes 
of judgment, which shall introduce the Millennium. 



DESTRUCTION OF THE JEWS. 
The number of people that perished at Jerusalem, by 
the sword, fire, sea, wild beasts, famine and pestilence, 
amounts to one million four hundred thousand. Ninety- 
seven thousand were captured and dispersed among the 
nations. [Josephus.] 



246 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 



CHAPTER VH. 



THE PRESENT STATE OF JUDAH 
AND ISRAEL. 



THE HEBREWS OR ISRAELITES, THE JEWS. 

*' He shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather to- 
gether the dispersed of Judah." The black Jews of Cochin 
in the East Indies, Doctor Buchanan gives an account of. 
The Most High speaks of gathering his ancient people 
from the east and from the west. Dr. Buchanan informs 
us that the black Jews have a tradition that they arrived in 
the East Indies not long after the Babylonish captiv- 
ity. And he adds, *' what seems to countenance this 
tradition is, they have copies of those books of the Old 
Testament which were written before the captivity, but 
none of those whose dates are subsequent to that event." 
It seems most probable, then, that these black Jews are de- 
scendants of the Jews who turned their course to that region 
of the East when they were liberated from Babylon, instead 
of returning to Jerusalem. Some of the Jews manifestly 
did thus part from their brethren, and migrate to the East. 
These were the Jews who abounded in the eastern as well 
as the western provinces of Persia, in the days of Ahasu- 
erus, Haman, Esther and Mordecai, when the impious de- 
cree was obtained against them by Haman. 

Ahasuerub then ** reigned over one hundred and twenty- 
seven provinces, even from India to Abyssinia or Ethio- 
pia," Esther i. 1 — in Africa. 

The Jews appear at that time to have been scattered in all 
these provinces. Thence these black Jews became planted 



' DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 247 

in India, and they had their Bible, as far as it was writ- 
ten, before the captivity. 

The black Jews at Hindostan, in Asia, having descend- 
ed from the ten tribes, they called themselves Jews. The 
Jews have been strict to retain the knowledge of their de- 
scent. The tribes of Israel were threatened with the fam- 
ine of the word which has been already noted, Amos viii. 
11, 12. Here the ten tribes, in their long banishment, 
should wander from " north to south, and from sea to sea," 
running to and fro to find communication from heaven, but 
should remain destitute of the word of life, till about the 
time of their restoration. The black Jews in Asia have 
all the sacred writings which were given before the Baby- 
lonish captivity. 

Mr. Largon gives the following account of some people 
discovered by him, in Hindostan. 

1. These people, in dress and manners, resemble the na- 
tives so much as not to bie distinguished from them, but 
by attentive observation and inquiry. 

2. They have some Hebrew names, with local termina- 
tions. 

3. Some of them read Hebrew, and they have a faint 
tradition of the cause of their original exodus from Egypt, 

4. Their common language is Hindoo. 

5. They keep idols, and worship them; and use idola- 
trous ceremonies, intermixed with Hebrew. 

6. They circumcise their children. 

7. They observe the kippoor or great expiation day of 
the Hebrews. 

8. They call themselves Jehudi. 

9. They say the Arabian Jews are their brethren ; grant 
this to be a fact ; and they, no doubt, are of the descend- 
ants of Judah. 

10. They use a Jew's prayer : Hear, O Israel ; the Lord 
thy God is one Lord ; Deut. vi. 4. 

11. They have no priest, Levite or Nasi among them; 
though they have elders and a chief in each community. 

12. The3i expect the Messiah; and that when he comes 
, he will go to Jerusalem, whither they shall return to be dis- 
persed no more." 

For these reasons, Mr. Jaratt views this people as of the 
ten tribes. Should they prove to be thus, they may be de- 



248 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

scendants of the small part of Israel, who stayed behind, 
according to the Indian tradition. 

The Hindoos, it appears, have a national literature, 
abounding in numerous works on theology, law, jurispru- 
dence, politics, geography, astronomy and other sciences ; 
and many of them are said to have settled opinions on all 
these subjects, founded on the basis of custom, education, 
and continued patient investigation. 

HiNDOOsTAN — Boundaries and Extent. — Hindoos- 
tan, called also India on this side of the Gano-es, lies be- 
tween 8 and 31 degrees north latitude, and is bounded on 
the north by Tartary and Thibet ; east by Assam and Ar- 
racan ; south by the sea; and west by the river Indus; 
1,800 miles long, and 1,600 broad. 

Climate. — The climate towards the north is temperate; 
but hot in the south. It rains almost constantly for three 
months in the year. 

Rivers. — The Indus, 'the Ganges, and the Burrampoo- 1. 
ter, far exceed the other rivers of Hindoostan in magni- 
tude. The Ganges is one of the finest rivers in the world. 
It is revered by the Hindoos as a deity, who is to wash 
away all their sins. Its whole course is 2,100 miles ; it 
empties into the sea by several mouths. 

Productions. — The vegetable products of Hindoostan 
are almost innumerable, and extremely luxuriant. The 
grain most cultivated is rice. All kinds of fruit, suited to 
the climate, are produced here in abundance. The do- 
mestic animals are buffaloes, sheep, camels and elephants. 
Of wild quadrupeds are the rhinoceros, the Bengal tiger, 
monkies, wild boars, &c. The mines of Golconda have 
long been celebrated for diamonds. 

Population, &c. — The inhabitants of Hindoostan are 
computed at about 10,000,000 Mahometans, and 100,000,- 
000 Hindoos. The Mahometans, or Mussulmans, are rep- 
resented to be of a warlike character. The Hindoos, or 
Gentoos, are of a black complexion ; their hair is long, 
their person straight and elegant, and their countenances 
open and pleasant. They differ materially from all other 
nations, by being divided into tribes or casts. The four 
principal are the Bramins, Soldiers, Laborers and Mechan- 
ics; and these are subdivided into a multiplicity of inferi- 
or distinctions. 



THE INDIAN TRIBES IN AMERICA. 249 

The African Jews, — It may be asked, how came they 
Jews. Josephus informs us the nation and name of Africa 
were derived from Abraham, by Keturah, by whom he had 
six sons — men of courage and sagacious minds. Now 
Abraham, the Jew, contrived to settle his sons and grand- 
sons in colonies, and they took possession of Troglodytes, 
and named it Africa. And the country of Arabia to the 
Red Sea. The black Jews of Hindoostan call the Arabi- 
ian Jews brethren. 

Are ye not as children of the Ethiopians unto me, O 
children of Israef, saith the Lord. Have not I brought 
Israel out of the land of Egypt, and the Philistines (Ethi- 
opians) from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kin, Amos ix. 
7. Israel shall return, and come unto Zion, the city of 
our God. We, the Indians and Ethiopians, say to them 
that are of fearful hearts, Be strong, fear not; behold, your 
God will come, Isa. xxxv. 4. 

TiiK Claim of Posterity. — It is natural and scriptu- 
ral, that the posterity of great men be called after their 
father, down to the latest generation. The Hebrews are 
called after Hebor, their great father, from whom all the 
Hebrews descended. The Israelites are called after their 
great father Israel. The Jews are descendants from Judah, 
their great father, and are called after him in Africa and 
Asia. 

The Edomites or Indians, are descendants from Edom 
or Esau, and are called after their great father, &c. All 
Christians are the children of Christ Jesus by faith, and 
therefore, should be cajled after him. 



THE INDIAN TRIBES IN AMERICA. 

Columbus, the discoverer of America, was inflamed with 
a love of what he saw among the natives; and declared in 
a communication to the king and queen of Spain, that 
there was not a better people in the world than these — 
none more affectionate and mild; they love their neighbors 
as themselves ; always speaking and smiling ; and use eve- 
ry person with kindness. 
17 



250 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

De Las Casas, who spent much time in New Spain, says 
of the natives : Did they not receive the Spaniards who 
first came among them, with gentleness and humanity? 
Did they not show more joy, in proportion, in lavishing 
treasures upon them, than the Spaniards did greediness in 
receiving them ? But our avarice was not yet satisfied, 
"though they gave us their riches and lands; we would 
take fi'ora them their wives, and children, and liberties." 
To blacken the characters of these people, their enemies 
asserted that they were scarce human. " But it is we (adds 
the author) who ought to blush for having been less men, 
arid more barbarous than they." The natives are said to 
have been free from the European vices of blasphemy, ly- 
ing and stealing, and to have lived in peace until the Eu- 
ropeans came amohg them ; "Like Judas, with a kiss the 
natives they betrayed." 

Arguments in favor of the native Americans being the 
descendants of Israel. — O Israel, Israel, whom they have 
scattered among the nations." 

" The Lord shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and 
gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four cor- 
ners of the earth." 

" Woe unto them who have robbed me, and have en- 
riched themselves in land and blood and the souls of men." 

These natives all appear to have had one origin. Their 
language appears to have been Hebrew. The Indians have 
had their Ark of the covenant; have been in the practice of 
circumcision ; and have acknowledged one, and only one 
God. They have one tribe, answering in various respects 
to the tribe of Levi ; and they have something answering 
to the Jewish " cities of refuge." Indian pyramids resemble 
the " high places of ancient Israel. Phylacteries, or an- 
cient Hebrew writing, have been found on " Indian Hill," 
in Pittsfield. 

In addition to various other arguments, and many tradi- 
tions, a table of words and phrases is furnished by Doctor 
Boudinot, Adair, and others — to which several have been 
added from good authority — to show how clearly the In- 
dian language is derived from the Hebrew. Some of these 
Indian words have been taken from one tribe — and some 
from another. In a lonor continued heathen state, destitute 
of all aid from letters, a language must roll and change. 



THE INDIAN TRIBES IN AMERICA. 



251 



And it is strange that after the lapse of 2500 years, a siigle 
word should be preserved among such a people — under 
such circumstances. 



English. 


Indian. Hebrciu or Chaldaic. 


Jehovah, 


Yahewah, 


Jehovah. 


God, 


Ale, 


Ale Aleim. 


Jah, 


Yah or Wah, 


Jah. 


Shiloh, 


Shilah, 


Shiloh. 


Heaven, 


Chemim, 


Shemim, 


Farther, 


Abba, 


Abba. 


Man, 


Ish Ishte, 


Ish. 


Woman, 


Ishto, 


Ishto. 


Wife, 


Awah, 


Eweh Eve, 


Thou, 


Keah, 


Ka. 


His Wife, 


Liani, 


Lihene. 


This Man, 


Uwah, 


Huah, 


Nose, 


Nichiri, 


Neheri. 


Roof of a House 


;, Taubana-Ora, 


Debonaoun. 


Winter, 


Kora, 


Korah. 


Canaan, 


Canaai, 


Canaan. 


To pray, 


Phale, 


Phalac. 


Now, 


Na, 


No. 


Hind part, 


Kesh, 


Kish. 


Do, 


Jennais, 


Jannon. 


To blow, 


Phaubac, 


Phauhe. 


Rushing wind, 


Rowah, 


Ruach. 


Ararat, 


Ararat, 


Ararat. 


Man of God, 


Isto alio, 


Ishda alloah. 


Waiter of high- 






priest. 


Sagan, 
Parts of Sentences. 


Sagan. 


Very hot. 


Heru hara or hala. 


Hara hara= 


Praise to the 






First Cause, 


Halleluwah, 


Hallelujah. 


Give me food, 


Natoni bomen, 


Natoui bamen 



Authors and authorities adduced to prove the Tribes of 
Israel in America. 

Archaeologia Americana, p. 138. Adair, pp. 80, 88-9, 
92, 95, 98, 112, 116, 121,' 123, 147, 154. Don Alonzo 
De Ericilla, p. 158. 



252 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

Boudinot, pp. 87, 91, 93, 96, 98, 100, 116, 120, 123, 
125, 133, 134, 138. Bartram, pp. 123, 113, 125. Bul- 
tric, p. 130 Beatty, pp. 96, 98, 116, 119. 

Charlevoix, pp. 85, 174. Golden, pp. 94, 106. Cush- 
man pp. 105, 174. Clavigero, p. 118. Chapman, pp. 123, 
157. Carver, pp. 123, 164. Columbus, p. 132. Com- 
missioners, p. 137. Casas, p. 176. 

Dodge and Blight, p. 104. 
•Edwards, pp. 86, 89, 162. Esdras, p. 74. 

Frey, p. 118. 

Giddings, pp 88, 102. Gookin, p. 107. 

Hunter, p. 162. llumbolt, p. 177. Herman, p. 140. 
Heckewelder, p. 107. Hebard, p. 101. Hutchinson, pp. 
93, 174. 

Immanuel de Moraez, p. 97. 

Jarvis, p. 79. 

Long, pp. 141, 160. Lewis and Clark, pp. 106, 124. 

McKenzie, pp. 97, 114-15. Morse, pp. 91, 129, 142. 
Mather, p. 127. Melverda and Acasta, p. 162. 

Cecum, p. 106. 

Pratz, pp. 87, 175. Pedro de Cicca, p. 88. Penn, pp. 
107, 174. Pixley, pp. Ill, 113, 130. 

Robertson, p. 153. 

Sauard, p. 72. Smith, (colored,) pp. 117, 126, 134, 
136, 174, 175. Schoolcraft, p. 145. 

Ulloa, p. 88. 

Williams, pp. 88, 101, 110, 114. Williams, (Roger,) p. 
107. 

*•' View of the Hebrews, by Ethan Smith," compiled 
from these histories. 

According to these authors and scriptures of truth, the 
natives of America are the Israelites, the Jews ; and as 
they are oppressed and driven from the land, a wo — a curse 
will follow, and who of us can stand. 

Can a rational doubt be entertained whether the above 
Indian words, and parts of sentences, were derived from 
their corresponding words and parts of sentences in He- 
brew? If so, their adoption by savages at this distant time 
and place, would appear miraculous. .Some one or two 
words might happen to be the same, among distant, differ- 
ent nations. But that so many words, and parts of sen- 



I 



THE INDIAN TRIBES IN AMERICA. 253 

tences too, in a language with a construction peculiar to 
itself, should so nearly, and some of them exactly corres- 
pond, is never to be admitted as resulting from accident. 

And if these words and parts of sentences are from their 
corresponding Hebrew, the Indians must have descended 
from the ten tribes of Israel. 

Some of the Creek Indians called a murderer Abe ; prob- 
ably from Abel, the first man murdered, whose name in 
Hebrew imports, mourning. And they called one who 
kills a rambling enemy, Noabe; probably from Noah, im- 
porting rest, and Abe. He thus puts his rambling enemy 
to rest. The Caribbee Indians and the Creeks had more 
than their due proportion of the words and parts of sen- 
tences in the above table. 

Rev. Dr. Morse, in his late tour among the western In- 
dians, says of the langunge: '* It is highly metaphorical ; 
and in this and other respects, they resemble the Hebrew. 
This resemblance in their language, (he adds,) and the sim- 
ilarity of many of their religious customs to those of the 
Hebrews, certainly gave plausibility to the ingenious theo- 
ory of Dr. Boudinot, exhibited in his interesting work, the 
Star in the West." 

Dr. Boudinot informs that a gentleman, then living in 
the city of New York, who had long been much convers- 
ant with the Indians, assured him that, being once with the 
Indians at the place called Cohocks, they showed him a very 
high mountain at the west, the Indian name of which, they 
informed him, was Ararat. And the Penobscot Indians, the 
Dr. informs, call a high mountain by the same name. 

Dr. Boudinot assures us that he himself attended an In- 
dian religious dance. He says: "They danced one 
round ; and then a second, singing hal-hal-hal, till they 
finished the round. They then gave us a third round, 
striking up the words, le-le-Ie. On the next round, it was 
the words, lu-lu-lu, dancing with all their might. During 
the fifth round, was sung, yah-yah-yah. Then all joined in 
a lively and joyful chorus, and sung lialldvyali ; dwelling 
on each syllable with avery long breath, in a most pleasing 
manner." The Doctor adds : " There could be no decep- 
tion in all this. The writer was near them — paid great 
attention — and every thing was obvious to the senses. 
Their pronunciation was very guttural and sonorous ; but 



254 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

distinct and clear." How could it be possible that the wild 
native Americans, in different parts of the continent, 
should be found singing this phrase of praise to the Great 
First Cause, or to Jah — exclusively Hebrevi^, without hav- 
ing brought it down by tradition from ancient Israel? The 
positive testimonies of such men as Boudinot and Adair, 
are not to be dispensed with, nor doubted. They testify 
what they have seen and heard. And I can conceive of no 
rational way to account for this Indian song, but that they 
brought it down from ancient Israel, their ancestors. 

Mr. Faber remarks: "They (the Indians) call the light- 
ning and thunder, EloJia ; and its rumbling, Rowah, which 
may not improperly be deduded from the Hebrew word, 
Ru,ach, a name of the third person of the Holy Trinity, 
originally signifying the air in motion, or a rushing of the 
wind." Who can doubt but their name of thunder, Eioha, 
is derived from a Hebrew name of God, Elohim ? Souard, 
(quoted in Boudinot,) in his Literary Miscellanies, says of 
the Indians in Surinam, on the authority of Isaac Nasci, a 
learned Jew residing there, that the dialect of those Indi- 
ans, common to all the tribes of Guiana, is soft, agreeable, 
and regular. And this learned Jew asserts, that their sub- 
stantives are Hebrew. The word expressive of the soul, 
(he says,) is the same in each language, and is the same 
with breath. " God breathed into man the breath of life, 
and man became a living soul." This testimony from 
Nasci, a learned Jew, dwelling with the Indians, must be 
of signal weio-ht. 

Dr. Boudinot, from many good authorities, says of the 
Indians: "Their language in their roots, idiom, and par- 
ticular construction, appears to have the whole genius of 
the Hebrew ; and what is very remarkable, it has most of 
the peculiarities of that language ; especially those in which 
it differs from most other languages." 

Governor Hutchinson observed, that "many people (at 
the time of the first settlement of New England) pleased 
themselves with the conjecture, that the Indians in Ameri- 
ca are the descendants of the ten tribes of Israel." 
Something was discovered so early, which excited this 
pleasing sentiment. This has been noted as having been 
the sentiment of Rev. Samuel Sewall, of Vice President 
Willard, and others. Governor Hutchinson expresses his 



THE INDIAN TRIBES IN AMERICA. 255 

doubt upon the subject, on account of the dissimilarity of 
the language of the natives of Massachusetts, to the He- 
brew. Any language, in a savage state, must, in the course 
of 2,500 years, have rolled and varied exceedingly. This 
is shown to be the case in the different dialects, and many 
new words introduced among those tribes, which are ac- 
knowledged to have their language radically the same. 

The following facts are enough to answer every objec- 
tion on this ground. The Indians had no written language. 
Hence the English scholar could not seethe spelling or the 
root of any Indian word. And the guttural pronunciation 
of the natives was such as to make even the Hebrew word, 
that might still be retained, appear a different word ; es- 
pecially to those who were looking for no Hebrew lan- 
guage among them. And the following noted idiom of 
the Indian language was calculated to hide the fact in per- 
fect obscurity, even had it been originally Hebrew, viz. : 
the Indian language consists of a multitude of monosylla- 
bles added together. Every property or circumstance of a 
thing to be mentioned by an Indian, must be noted by a 
new monosyllable added to its name. Hence it was that 
the 'simple words our loves, must be expressed by the fol- 
lowing long Indian word, Nooioomantammoonhonunonnash. 
Mr. Golden, in his history of the five nations, observes, 
*' They have few radical words. But they compound their 
words without end. The words expressive of things lately 
come to their knowledge, (he says,) are all compounds. 
And sometimes one word among them includes an entire 
definition of the thing."* These things, considered of a 
language among natives, 2,500 years after their expulsion 
from Canaan, must answer every objection arising from the 
fact, that the Indian language appears in some things very 
different from the Hebrew. And they must render it little 
less than miraculous, (as Mr. Adair says it is,) that after a 
lapse of so long a period among savages, without a book 
or letters, a word or phrase properly Hebrew should still 
be found among them.. Yet such words and phrases are 
found. And many more may yet be found in the com- 
pounds of Indian words. I have just now observed, in 
dropping my eye on a Connecticut Magazine for 1803, a 

* See the Connecticut Magazine, Vol. Ill, p. 367. 



^56 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

writer on the Indians in Massachusetts, in its earliest days, 
informs, that the name of a being they worshipped was 
Abaraocko. Here, without any perception of the fact, he 
furnishes a Hebrew word in compound. Abba-mocko; 
father-mocho. As a tribe of Indians in the south call God, 
Abba-mingo-ishto ; Father chief-man. In the latter, we 
have two Hebrew words: Abba, father; and Ish, man. 
Could we make proper allowance for Pagan pronunciation, 
and find how the syllables in their words ought to be 
spelled, we might probably find many more of the Hebrew 
roots in their language. 

It is ascertained that the Indians make great use of the 
syllables of the names of God, as roots of compound words. 
Dr. Boudinot says : " Y-O-he-wah-yah and Ale, are roots 
of a prodigious number of words through their various di- 
alects." VVah being a noted name of God with the Indi- 
ans, it seems often to occur in their proper names. Major 
Long informs us, in his expedition to the Rocky Moun- 
tains, that the name of God with the Omawhaw tribe is 
Wahconda. The Indians have their Wabash river, their 
Wa-sasheh tribe, (of which the word Osage is but a French 
corruption,) their Wa-bingie, Wa-ping, Wa-masqueak, Wa- 
shpelong, and Wa-shpeaute tribes; also their Wa-bunk, a 
name of the sun. A friend of mine informs me, that while 
surveying, in his younger life, in the state of Ohio, he ob- 
tained considerable acquaintance with the Indians there. 
That they appeared to have a great veneration for the sun, 
which they called Wahbuuk. If bunk is an Indian name 
for a bed, as some suppose, it would seem that with those 
Indians, the sun was Jehovah's bed, or place of residence. 
The Indians hd^e had much of an idea of embodying the 
Great Spirit in fire. It is an idea which resulted from the 
scene on the fiery top of Sinai, and from ancient Hebrew- 
figures, (as Paul informed in his epistle to the Hebrews,) 
that " Our God is a consuming fire." No wonder then 
those Indians in Ohio, as did the ancient Peruvians, em- 
bodied their Great Spirit in the sun. And no wonder their 
veneration for that visible supposed residence of the Great 
Spirit should be mistaken by strangers for worship paid to 
the sun. 

The Indians have had their imitation of the ark of the 
covenant in ancient Israel. Different travellers, and from 



THE INDIAN TRIBES IN AMERICA. 257 

different regions unite in this. Mr. Adair is full in his 
account of it. It is a small square box, made convenient 
to carry on the back. They never set it on the ground, 
but on logs in low ground where stones are not to be had; 
and on stones where they are to be found. This author 
gives the following account of it. " It is worthy of notice, 
(he says,) that they never place the ark on the ground, nor 
sit it on the bare earth when they are carrying it against 
an enemy. On hilly ground, where stones are plenty, they 
place it on them. But in level land, upon short logs, al- 
ways resting themselves, (i. e., the carriers of the ark,) on 
the same materials, They have also as strong a faith of 
the power and holiness of their ark, as ever the Israelites 
retained of theirs. The Indian ark is deemed so sacred 
and dangerous to touch, either by their own sanctified war- 
riors, or the spoiling enemy, that neither of them dare 
meddle with it on any account. It is not to be handled by 
any except the chieftain and his waiter, under penalty of in- 
curring great evil; nor would the most inveterate enemy 
dare to touch it. The leader virtually acts the part of a 
priest of war, pro tempore, in imitation of the Israelites 
fighting under the divine military banner." 

Dr. Boudinot says of this ark, " It may be called the ark 
of the covenant imitated." In time of peace it is the 
charge of their high priests. In their wars, they make 
great account of it. The leader, (acting as high priest on 
that occasion,) and his darling waiter, carry it in turns. 
They deposit in the ark some of their most consecrated 
articles. The two carriers of this sacred symbol, before 
setting off with it for the war, purify themselves longer 
than do the rest of the warriors. The waiter bears the ark 
during a battle. It is strictly forbidden for any one, but 
the proper oflicer, to look into it. An enemy, if they cap- 
ture it, treat it with the same reverence. 

Dr. Boudinot says, that a gentleman who was at Ohio 
in 1756, informed" him, that while he was there, he saw 
among the Indians a stranger who appeared very desi- 
rous to look into the ark of that tribe. The ark was 
then standing on a block of wood, covered with a dressed 
deer skin. A centinel was guarding it, armed with a 
bow and arrow. The centinel finding the intruder press- 



258 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

ing on, to look into the ark, drew his arrow at his head, 
and would have dropped him on the spot; but the stran- 
ger perceiving his danger, fled. Who can doubt the or- 
igin of this Indian custom? And who can resist the ev- 
idence it furnishes, that here are the tribes of Israel? 
See Num. x, 35, 36, and xiv. 44. 

The American Indians have practised circumcision. 
Doct. Beaty, in his journal of a visit to the Indians in 
Ohio, between fifty and sixty years ago, says that " an 
old Indian (in answer to his questions relative to their 
ancient customs, the Indian being one of the old beloved 
M^ise men,) informed him that an old uncle of his, who 
died about the year 1728, related to him several customs 
of former times among the Indians, and among the rest, 
that circumcision was long ago practised among them, 
but that their young men made a mock of it, and it fell 
into disrepute and was discontinued." Mr. M'Kenzie 
informs, that in his travels among the Indians, he was 
led to believe the same fact, of a tribe far to the north- 
west; as stated in the " Star in the West." His words 
(when speaking of the nations of the Slave and Dog-rib 
Indians,) are these; "Whether circumcision be prac- 
tised among them, I cannot pretend to say; but the ap- 
pearance of it was general among those I saw." The 
Indians cautiously conceal their special religious rites 
from strangers travelling among them. Mr. M'Kenzie 
then would not be likely to learn this fact from them, by 
any statement of the fact, or by seeing it performed. 
But he says, " The appearance of it was general." 
Doctor Boudinot assures that the eastern Indians inform 
of its having been practised among them in times past; 
but that latterly, not being able to give any account of 
so strange a rite, their young men had opposed it, and it 
was discontinued. Immanuel de Moraez, in his history 
of Brazil, says it was practised among the native Brazil- 
ians. These native inhabitants of South America were 
of th,e same origin with the Indians of North America. 

The Rev. Mr. Bingham of Boston informed the writer 
of these sheets, that Thomas Hopoo, the pious native of 
a Sandwich Island, informed him while in this country, 
before he returned with our missionaries to his native 
region, that he himself had been circumcised; that he 



THE INDIAN TBIBES IN AMERICA. 259 

perfectly remembered his brother's holding him, while 
his father performed upon him this rite. 

Mr. Bingham also informed that the pious Obookiah, 
of the same race, pleased himself that he was a natural 
descendant of Abraham, and thought their own language 
radically Hebrew. It is believed by men of the best in- 
formation that the Sandwich Islanders and the native 
Americans are of the same race. What savage nation 
could ever have conceived of such a rite, had they not 
descended from Israel.'' 

The native Americans have acknowledged one, and 
only one God; and they have generally views concerning 
the one Great Spirit, of which no account can be given, 
but that they derived them from ancient revelation in .s- 
rael. Other nations destitute of revelation have had 
their many gods. But little short of three hundred thou- 
sand gods have existed in the bewildered imaginations of 
the pagan world. Every thing, almost, has been deified 
by the heathen. Not liking to retain God in their know- 
ledge, and professing themselves to be wise, they became 
fools; and they changed the glory of the one living God 
into images of beasts, birds, reptiles and creeping things. 
There has been the most astonishing inclination in the 
world of mankind to do thus. But here is a new world 
of savages, chiefly if not wholly free from such wild 
idolatry. Doctor Boudinot (being assured by many good 
witnesses,) says of the Indians who had been known in 
his day, " They werie never known [whatever mercena- 
ry Spanish writers may have written to the contrary] to 
pay the least adoration to images or dead persons, to 
celestial luminaries, to evil spirits, or to any created 
beings whatever." Mr. Adair says the same, and as- 
sures that " none of the numerous tribes and nations, 
from Hudson's Bay to the Mississippi, have ever been 
known to attempt the formation of any image of God." 
Du Pratz was very intimate with the chief of those In- 
dians called " the Guardians of the Temple," near the 
Mississippi. He inquired of them the nature of their 
worship. The chief informed him that they worshipped 
the great and most perfect Spirit; and said, "He is 
so great and powerful, that in comparison with him all 
others are as nothing. He made all things that we see. 



260 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

and all things that we cannot see." The chief went on 
to speak of God as having made little spirits, called free 
servants, who always stand before the Great Spirit ready 
to do his will. That " the air is filled with spirits; some 
good, some bad; and that the bad have a chief who is 
more wicked than the rest." Here it seems is their tra- 
ditional notion of good and bad angels; and of Beelze- 
bub, the chief of the latter. This chief being asked how 
God made man, replied, that " God kneaded some clay, 
made it into a little man, and finding it was well formed, 
he blew on his work, and the man had life and grew up!" 
Being asked of the creation of the woman, he said, "their 
ancient speech made no mention of any difference, only 
that the man was made first." Moses' account of the 
formation of thewoman, it seems had been lost. 

Mr. Adair is very full in this, that the Indians have 
but one God, the Great Yohewah, whom they call the 
great, beneficent, supreme, and holy Spirit, who dwells 
above the clouds, and who dwells with good people, and 
is the only object of worship." So different are they 
from all the idolatrous heathen upon earth. He assures 
that they hold this great divine Spirit as the immediate 
head of their community; which opinion he conceives 
they must have derived from the ancient theocracy in Is- 
rael, He assures that the Indians are intoxicated with 
religioui pride, and call all other people the accursed 
people; and have time out of mind been accustomed to 
hold them in great contempt. Their ancestors they 
boast to have been under the immediate government of 
Yohewah, who was with them and directed them by his 
prophets, while the rest of the world were outlaws, and 
strangers to the covenant of Yohewah. The Indians 
thus please themselves (Mr. Adair assures us) with the 
idea that God has chosen them from the rest of mankind 
as his peculiar people. This, he says, has been the oc- 
casion of their hating other people; and of viewing them- 
selves hated by all men. These things show that they 
acknowledge but one God. 

The Peruvians have been spoken of as paying adora- 
tion to the sun, and as receiving their race of Incas, as 
children of the sun, in their succession of twelve mon- 
archies. The Indians^ have had much of an apprehen- 



THE INDIAN TRIBES IN AMERICA. 261 

sion that their one Great Spirit had a great affinity to fire. 
And the Peruvians, it seems, went so far as to embody 
him in the sun. Here seems a shred of mixture of the 
Persian idolatry, with the theocracy of Israel. As the 
more ancient Israelites caught a degree of the idolatrous 
distemper of Egypt, as appears in their golden calf; so 
the ten tribes, the time they resided in Media, and before 
they set off for America, may have blended some idea of 
Jire with theii* one God. But the veneration the Peru- 
vians had for their Incas, as children of the Most High, 
seems but a shred of ancient tradition from Israel, that 
their kings were divinely anointed; and is so far from 
being an argument against their being of Israel, that it 
operates rather in favor of the fact. 

Doctor Boudinot informs of the southern Indians of 
North America, that they had a name for God, which 
signifies, " the great, the beloved, holy cause." And 
one of their names of God, is Mingo-Ishto-Abba ; Great 
Chief Father. He speaks of a preacher's being among 
the Indians at the south, before the American revolution, 
and beginning to inform them that there is a God who 
created all things. Upon which they indignantly replied, 
"Go about your business, you fool! do not we know 
there is a God, as well as you.^" 

In their sacred dances, these authors assure us the 
Indians sing " Halleluyah Yohewah;" — praise to Jah 
Jehovah. When they return victorious from their wars, 
they sing, Yo-he-wah; having been by tradition taught 
to ascribe the praise to God. 

The same authors assure us, the Indians make great 
use of the initials of the mysterious name of God, like the 
tetragrammation of the ancient Hebrews; or the four 
radical letters which form the name of Jehovah; as the 
Indians pronounce thus, Y-O-He-wah. That like the 
ancient Hebrews, they are cautious of mentioning these 
together, or at once. They sing and repeat the syllables 
of this name in their sacred dances thus; Yo-yo, or ho- 
ho-he-he-wah-wah. Mr. Adair upon the same, says; 
"After this they begin again; Hal-hal-le-le-lu-lu-yah- 
yah. And frequently the whole train strike up, hallelu- 
hallelu-halleluyah-halleluyah." They frequently sing 
the name of Shilu (Shilo, Christ) with the syllables of 



S62 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

the name of God added; thus, " Shilu-yo-Shilu— yo-Shilu 
-he-Shilu-he-Shilu-wah— Shilii-wah." Thus adding to the 
name of Shilu the name of Jehovah by its sacred syllables. 
Things like these have been found among Indians of differ- 
ent regions of America. Syllables and letters of the name 
of God have been so transposed in different ways; and so 
strange and guttural has been the Indian pronunciation, 
that it seems it took a long time to perceive that these 
savages were by tradition pronouncing the names of the 
God of Israel. Often have people been informed, and 
smiled at the fact, that an Indian, hurt or frightened, 
usually cries out wah! This is a part of his traditional 
religion; O Jah! or O Lord ! 

Doctor Williams upon the Indians' belief of the being 
of God, observes; " They denominate the deity the 
Great Spirit; the Great Man above; and seem to have 
some general ideas of his government and providence, 
universal power and dominion. The immortality of the 
soul was every where admitted among the Indian tribes." 
The Rev. Ithamar Hebard, formerly minister of this 
place, related the following: That about fifty years ago, 
a number ol men were sent from New-England by the 
government of Britain into the region of the Mississippi, 
to form some treaty with the Indians. That while these 
commissioners were there, having tarried for some time, 
an Indian chief came from the distance of what he calls 
several moons to the westward. Having heard that white 
men were there, he came to inquire of them where the 
Great Being dwelt who made all things. And being in- 
formed, through an interpreter, of the divine omnipres- 
ence, he raised his eyes and hands to heaven with great 
awe and ecstacy, and looking round, and leaping, he 
seemed to express the greatest reverence and delight. 
The head man of these commissioners had been a profane 
man; but this incident cured him, so that he was not 
heard to utter another profane word on his tour. This 
was related to Mr. Hebard by one Elijah Wood, who 
was an eye witness of the scene, and who was afterward 
a preacher of the gospel. The son of Mr. Hebard, a set- 
tled minister, gives this relation. 

Let this fact of the Indians generally adhering to one, 
and only one God, be contrasted with the polytheism of 
the world of pagans, and heathen besides; with the idle 



THE INDIAN TRIBES IN AMERICA. 263 

and ridiculous notions of heathen gods and goddesses; 
and who can doubt of the true origin of the natives of 
our continent? They are fatally destitute of proper 
views of God and religion. But they have brought down 
by tradition from their remote ancestors, the notion of 
there being but one great and true God; which affords a 
most substantial argument in favor of their being the an- 
cient Israel. 

It is agreed that within about eighty years, a £freat 
change has been produced among the Indians. They 
have in this period much degenerated as to their tradi- 
tional religion. Their connexions with the most degen- 
erate part of the white people, trading among them, and 
their knowledge and use of ardent spirit, have produced 
the most deleterious effects. They have felt less zeal to 
maintain their own religion, such as it was; and to trans- 
mit their own traditions. Remarkable indeed it is, that 
they did so diligently propagate and transmit them, till 
.so competent a number of good testimonies should be 
furnished to the civilized and religious world, relative to 
their origin. This must have been the great object of 
divine Providence in causing them so remarkably to 
transmit their traditions through such numbers of ages. 
And when the end is answered, the cause leading to it 
may be expected to cease. 

This may account for the degeneracy of some Indians 
far to the west, reported in the journals of Mr. Giddings, 
in his exploring tour. He informs, "They differ greatly 
in their ideas of the Great Spirit; one supposes that he 
dwells in a buffalo, another in a wolf, another in a bear, 
another in a bird, another in a rattlesnake. On great 
occasions, such as when they go to war, and when they 
return, he adds, they sacrifice a dog, and have a dance. 
On these occasions they formerly sacrificed a prisoner 
taken in the war; but through the benevolent exertions 
of a trader among them, they have abandoned the prac- 
tice of human sacrifice. There is always one who 
officiates as high priest. He practises the most rigid 
abstinence. He pretends to a kind of inspiration, or 
witchcraft; and his directions are obeyed. 

■'They all believe, he' adds, in future rewards and 
punishments ; but their heaven is sensual. They dif- 



264 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

fer much in their ideas of goodness. One of their chiefs 
told him, he did not know what constituted a good man ; 
that their wise men in this did not agree. 

"Their chiefs, and most of their warriors, have a war 
sack, which contains generally, the skinof a bird, which 
has a green plumage ; or some other object, which they 
imagine to have some secret virtue." 

Here we learn that those far distant savages have (as 
have all the other tribes) their Great Spirit, "who made 
every thing," though in their bewildered opinion he 
dwells in certain animals. On going to war, or return- 
ing, they must sacrifice; and for victory obtained, must 
have their religious dance. They must have their high 
priest, who must practice great abstinence, and pretend 
to inspiration; and hence must be obeyed. They have 
brought down their traditional notions of these things; 
and of future rewards and punishments. The ark of their 
warlike chieftains, it seems, has degenerated into a 
sack ! but this (like the ark of the other tribes) must con-^ 
tain their most sacred things; "green phimage, or some 
other objects which they imagine to have some secret 
virtue." Here these Indians furnish their quota of evi- 
dence, in these more broken traditions, of their descent 
from Israel. 

These tribes in the west are more savage, and know 
less of the old Indian traditions. Mr. Giddings says, 
"As you ascend the Missouri and proceed to the west, the 
nearer to the state of nature the savages approach, and 
the more savage they appear." This may account for 
their ark^s degenerating into a sack; and for their verg- 
ing nearer to idolatry in their views of the Great Spirit, 
viewing him as embodied in certain animals. 

A chief of the Delaware Indians far in the west, visi- 
ted by Messrs. Dodge and Blight, Jan. 1824, from the 
Union Mission, gave the following information to these 
missionaries. The chief was said by these missionaries 
"to be a grave and venerable character, possessing a 
mind which (if cultivated) would render him probably not 
inferior to some of the first statesmen of our country." 
On being inquired of by them whether he believed in the 
existence of a Supreme Being? he replied; "Long ago, 
before ever a white man stepped his foot in America, the 



THE INDIAN TRIBES OF AMERICA. 265 

Delawares knew there was one God; and believed there 
was a hell, where bad folks would go when they die; 
and a heaven where good folks would go. He went 
on to state (these missionaries inform) that "he be- 
lieved there was a devil, and he was afraid of him. 
These things (he said) he knew were handed down by 
his ancestors long before William Penn arrived in Penn- 
sylvania. He said, he also knew it to be wrong if a 
poor man came to his door hungry and naked, to turn 
him away empty For he believed God loved the poor- 
est of men better than he did proud rich men. Long 
time ago, (he added,) it was a good custom among his 
people to take but one wife, and that for life. But now 
they had become so foolish, and so wicked, that they 
would take a number of wives at a time, and turn them 
away at pleasure!" He was asked to state what he 
knew of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He replied that 
**he knew but little about him. For his part, he knew 
there was one God. He did not know about two Gods.'* 
This evidence needs no comment to show that it appears 
to be Israelitish tradition, in relation to the one God, to 
heaven, hell, the devil, and to marriage, as taught in the 
Old Testament, as well as God's estimation of the pr<!ud 
rich, and the poor. These things he assures us came 
down from their ancestors, before ever any white man 
appeared in America. But the great peculiarity which 
white men would naturally teach them (if they taught any 
thing,) that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is the Savior 
of the world, he honestly confesses he knew not this part 
of the subject. 

The following is an extract of a letter from Mr. Cal- 
vin Cushman, missionary among the Choctaws, to a 
friend in Plainfield, Mass., in 1824. 

"By information received of father Hoyt respecting 
the former traditions, rites and ceremonies of the Indi- 
ans of this region, I think there is much reason to be- 
lieve they are the descendants of Abraham. They have 
had cities of refuge, feasts of first truits, sacrifices of 
the firstlings of the flocks, which had to be perfect, with- 
out blemish or deformity, a bone of which must not be 
broken. They were never known to worship images, 
18 



9.GG LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

nor to offer sacrifice to any god made with hands. They 
all have some idea and belief of the Great Spirit. Their 
fasts, holy days, &c. were regulated by sevens, as to time, 
i. e. seven sleeps, seven moons, seven years, &c. They 
had a kind of box containing some kind of substance 
which was considered sacred, and kept an entire secret 
from the common people. Said box was borne by a num- 
ber of men who were considered pure or holy, (if I mis- 
take not such a box was kept by the Cherokees.) And 
whenever they went to war with another tribe they car- 
ried this box; and such was its purity in their view, that 
nothing would justify its being rested on the ground. A 
clean rock or scaffold of timber only, was considered 
sufficiently pure for a resting place for this sacred coffer. 
And such was the veneration of all the tribes for it, that 
whenever the party retaining it was defeated, and oblig- 
ed to leave it on the field of battle, the conquerors would 
by no means touch it." This account well accords with 
accounts of various others from different regions of the 
Indians. But it is unaccountable upon every principle 
except that the Indians are the descendants of Israel. 

It is probable that while most of the natives of our 
land had their one Great Spirit, some of this wretched 
people talked of their differemt gods. Among the natives 
on Martha's Vineyard, in the beginninsj of Mayhew's 
mission among them, we find Mioxo, in his conversation 
with the converted native, Hiaccomes, speaking of his 
thirty-seven gods; and finally concluding to throw them 
all away, to serve the one true God. We know not 
what this insulated native could mean by his thirty-seven 
gods. But it seems evident from all quarters, that such 
were not the sentiments of the body of the natives of 
America. 

The ancient natives on Long Island talked of their 
different subordinate gods. Sampson Occum, the noted 
Indian preacher, says, " the Indians on Long Island 
imagined a great number of gods." But he says, "they 
had (at the same time) a notion of one great and good 
God, who was over all the rest." Here, doubtless, 
was their tradition of the holy angels which they had 
become accustomed to call gods under the one great God. 



THE INDIAN TRIBES OF AMERICA. , 267 

The North American Reviewers speak of the fact, that 
the natives of our land acknowledged one supreme God. 
They inquire, " If the Indians in general have not some 
settled opinion of a Supreme Being, how has it happened 
that in all the conferences or talks of the white people 
with them, they have constantly spoken of the Great 
Spirit; as they denominate the Ruler of the universe?" 

Lewis and Clarke informs us of the Mandans, (a tribe 
far toward the Pacific) thus: " The whole religion of the 
Mandans consists in a belief of one Great Spirit presid- 
ing over their destinies. To propitiate whom, every 
attention is lavished, and every personal consideration 
is sacrificed." One Mandan informed that lately he 
had eight horses; but that he had offered them all up to 
the Great Spirit. His mode of doing it was this; he 
took them into the plains, and turned them all loose; 
committing them to the Great Spirit, he abandoned them 
for ever. The horses, less devout than their master, no 
doubt took care of themselves. 

Heckewelder (a venerable missionary among the In- 
dians 40 years, noted in Doct. Jarvis' discourse before 
the New York Historical Society, and who had a great 
acquaintance with the wide spread dialect of the Dela- 
Vt'are language,) says: " Habitual devotion to the great 
first cause, and a strong feeling of gratitude for the 
benefits he confers, is one of the prominent traits 
which characterize the mind of the untutored Indian. 
He believes it to be his duty to adore and worship his 
Creator and Benefactor." 

Gookin, a writer in New England in 1674, says of the 
natives, "generally they acknowledge one great su- 
preme Doer of good." Roger Williams, one of the 
first settlers of New England, says: "He that ques- 
tions whether God rpade the world, the Indians will teach 
him. I must acknowledge (he adds) I have in my con- 
course with them, received many confirmations of these 
two great points — 1. That God is. 2. That he is a re- 
warder of all that diligently seek him. If they receive 
any good in fishing, hunting or harvesting, they ac- 
knowledge God in it." 

Surely, then, the natives of the deserts of America 
must have been a people who once knew the God of 



268 • LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

Israel! They maintained for more than two millenaries, 
the tradition of him, in many respects correct. What 
possible account can be given of this, but that they were 
descendants of Israel, and that the God of Israel has 
had his merciful eye upon them, with a view in his own 
time to bring them to light, and effect their restoration? 
The celebrated William Penn ^iues accounts of the 
natives of Pennsylvania, which go to corroborate the same 
point. Mr. Penn saw the Indians of Pennsylvania before 
they had been affected with the rude treatment of the 
white people. And in a letter to a friend in England, 
he thus writes of those natives: " I found them with like 
countenances with the Hebrew race; and their children 
of so lively a resemblance to them, that a man would 
think himself in Duke'splace, or Barry street, in London, 
when he sees them," Here, without the least previous 
idea of those natives being Israelites, that shrewd i lan 
was struck with their perfect resemblance of them; and 
with other things which will be noted. He speaks of 
their dress and trinkets as notable, and like those 
of ancient Israel; their ear-rings, nose jewels, brace- 
lets on their arms and legs, rings (such as they 
were) on their fingers; necklaces, made of polished 
shells found in their rivers and on their coasts; bands, 
shells and feathers ornamenting the heads of females, 
and various strings of beads adorning several parts of 
the body. 

Mr. Penn adds to his friend, " that he considered this 
people as under a dark night; yet they believed in God 
and immortality, without the help of metaphysics. For 
he sa_ys they informed him that there was a great king, 
who made them — that the souls of the good shall go to 
him." He adds; "Their worship consists in two parts, 
sacrifice and cantico, (songs.) The first is with their 
first fruits; and the first buck they kill goes to the fire," 
Mr. Penn proceeds to describe their splendid feast of 
first fruits, one of which he had attended. He informs, 
*' all that go to this feast must take a piece of money, 
which is made of the bone of a fish," "None shall 
appear before me empty." He speaks of the agreement 
of their rites with those of the Hebrews. He adds, 
"They reckon by moons; they ofier their first ripe 



THE INDIAN TRIBES OF AMERICA. 269 

fruits; they have a kind of feast of tabernacles; they 
are said to lay their altars with twelve stones; they 
mourn a year; they have their separations of women; 
with many other things that do not now occur." Here 
is a most artless testimony, given by that notable man, 
drawn from his own observations, and accounts given by 
him; while the thought of this people's being actually 
Hebrew, probably was most distant from his mind. 

Their having a tribe, answering in various respects 
to the tribe of Levi, sheds farther light on this subject* 
The thought naturally occurs, that if these are the ten 
tribes, and they have preserved so many of their reli- 
gious traditions, should we not. be likely to find among 
them some tradition of a tribe answering to the tribe of 
Levi.? If we should find something of this, the evidence 
of their being the tribes of Israel would indeed be more 
striking. Possibly this is furnished. The Mohawk 
tribe were held by the other tribes in great reverence; 
and the other tribes round about them had been accus- 
tomed to pay them an annual tribute. Mr. Boudinot 
gives the following account of them. "Mr. Golden 
says, he had been told by old men (Indians) in New 
England, that when their Indians were at war formerly 
with the Mohawks, as soon as one (a Mohawk) appeared, 
the Indians would raise a cry, from hill to hill, a Mo- 
hawk! a Mohawk! upon which all would flee as sheep 
before a wolf, without attempting to make the least re- 
sistance. And that all the nations around them have 
for many years entirely submitted to their advice, and 
paid them a yearly tribute. And the tributary nations 
dared not to make war or peace, without the consent of 
the Mohawks." Mr. Golden goes on to state an instance 
of their speech to the governor of Virginia, in which it 
appears the Mohawks were the correctors of the misdo- 
ings of the other tribes. 

Now, could any thing be found in their name which 
might have an allusion to the superiority of the tribe of 
Levi, we should think the evidence very considerable, 
that here are indeed the descendants of the part of that 
tribe which clave to the house of Israel. And here, too, 



* Some of this tribe probably remained with the ten tribes. 



270 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

evidence seems not wholly wanting. The Hebrew 
word Mhhokek, signifies an interpreter of the law, supe- 
rior. We have, then, a new view of the possible origin 
of the Mohawks! 

Several propJietic traits of character given of the 
Hebrews, do accurately apply to the aborigines of America. 
Intemperance may be first noted. Isaiah, writing about 
the time of the expulsion of Israel from Canaan, and 
about to predict their restoration says, Isa. xxviii. 1 — 
" Wo to the crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, 
(Ephraim was a noted name of the ten tribes of Israel.) 
The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, shall be 
trodden under feet. For all tables shall be full of vomit 
and filthiness; so that there is no place clean." 

In the course of the descriptions of their drunkenness, 
that of their rejection and restoration is blended; that 
the Lord by a mighty one would cast him down to the 
earth; and their glorious beauty should be like that of a 
rich flower in a fertile valley, which droops, withers and 
dies. But in time God would revive it. " In that day 
shall the Lord of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for 
a diadem of beauty unto the residue of this people." 
None who know the character of the Indians in relation 
to intemperance, need to be informed that this picture 
does most singularly apply to them. 

Doctor Williams, in his History of Vermont, on this 
trait of Indian character, says: "no sooner had the 
Indians tasted of the spirituous liquors brought by the 
Europeans, than they contracted a new appetite, which 
they were wholly unable to govern. The old and the 
young, the sachem, the warrior and the women, whenev- 
er they can obtain liquors, indulge themselves without 
moderation and without decency, till universal drunken- 
ness takes place. All the tribes appear to be under the 
dominion of this appetite, and unable to govern it." 

A writer in the Connecticut Magazine assures us of 
the Indians in Massachusetts, when our fathers first 
arrived there: '*As soon as they had a taste of ardent 
spirits, they discovered a strong appetite for them, and 
their thirst soon became insatiable " 

Another trait of Hebrew character which singularly 
applies to the Indians, is found in Isa. iii. "The 



THE INDIAN TRIBES OF AMERICA. 271 

bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet; 
their cauls, and round tires like the moon; their chains, 
bracelets, mufflers, bonnets, ornaments of the legs; 
head-bands, tablets, ear-rings, rings, and nose jewels; 
the mantles, the wimples, and the crisping pins." One 
would imagine the prophet was here indeed, describing 
the natives of America in their full dress! No other 
people on earth probably bear a resemblance to such a 
degree. 

This description was given just before the expulsion of 
Israel. And nothing would be more likely than that 
their taste for these flashy ornaments should descend to 
posterity. For these make the earliest and deepest im- 
pressions on the rising generation. And many of the 
Indians exhibit the horrid contrast which there follows. 

Mr. Pixley, of the Union mission, being out among 
the Indians over Sabbath, thus wrote in his journal: — 
" I have endeavored to pay a little attention to the day, 
(the Sabbath) by building a fire in the woods, and there 
reading my Bible. In reading the third chapter of the 
prophet Isaiah, I found in the latter part of the chapter 
a striking analogy between the situation of this people, 
and the condition of the people about whom the prophet 
was speaking, which I never before discovered. They 
are represented by the prophet as sitting on the ground; 
having their secret parts discovered; having given to 
them, instead of a sweet smell, a stench; instead of a 
girdle, a rent; instead of well set hair, baldness; instead 
of a stomacher, a girding of sackcloth; and burning 
instead of beauty. In all these particulars, except that 
of baldness, the prediction of the prophet is amply ful- 
filled in this people. And even this exception would 6e 
removed, if we might suppose thaj their shaving their 
heads with a razor, leaving one small lock on the crown, 
would constitute the baldness hinted. And certainly if 
any women in the world labor to secure their own bread 
and water, and yet a number of them be attached to 
one man to take away their reproach, you will find it 
among this people, whether the prediction may or may 
not be applied to them." 

The Indians beAng in tribes, with their heads and 
names of tribes, affords further light upon this subject. 



272 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

The Hebrews not only had their tribes and heads of 
tribes, as have the Indians, but they had their animal 
emblems of their tribes. Dan's emblem was a serpent; 
Issachar's an ass; Benjamin's a ivolf; and Judah's a 
lion. And this trait of character is not wanting among 
the natives of this land. They have their wolf tribe; 
their tiger tribe; panther tribe; buffalo tribe; bear tribe; 
deer tribe; raccoon tribe; eagle tribe; and many others. 
What other nation on earth bears any resemblance to 
this? Here, no doubt, is Hebrew tradition. 

Various of the emblems given in Jacob's last blessing 
have been strikingly fulfilled in the American Indians. 
** Dan shall be a serpent by the way; an adder in the 
path, that biteth the horse heels, so that the rider shall 
fall backwards. Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf; in the 
morning he shall devour the prey; and at night he shall 
divide the spoil." Had the prophetic eye rested on the 
American aborigines, it seems as though no picture 
could have been more accurate. 

Their having an imitation of the ancient city of 
refuge, evinces the truth of our subject. Their city of 
refuge has been hinted from Mr. Adair. But as this is 
so convincing an argument, no nation on earth having 
any thing of the kind, but the ancient Hebrews and the 
Indians, the reader shall be more particulnrly instructed 
on this article. Of one of these places of refuge, Mr. 
Boudinot says: " The town of refuge called Choate is on 
a large stream of the Mississippi, five miles above where 
Fort Loudon formerly stood. Here, some years ago, a 
brave Englishman was protected, after killing an Indian 
warrior in defence of his property. He told Mr. Adair 
that after some month's stay in this place of refuge, he 
intended to return to his house in the neighborhood; but 
the chiefs told him it would prove fatal to him. So that 
he was obliged to continue there, till he pacified the 
friends of the deceased by presents to their satisfaction. 
" In the upper country of Muskagee, (says Doctor 
Boudinot,) was an old beloved town, called Koosah — 
which is a place of safety for those who kill undesign- 
edly." 

" In almost every Indian nation (he adds) there are 
several peaceable towns, which are called old beloved^ 



THE TRUE CHRISTIANS IN THIS LAND ARE INDIANS. 273 

holy, or white towns. It is not within the memory of the 
oldest people, that blood was ever shed in them; although 
they often force persons from them, and put them else- 
where to death." Who can read this, and not be satisfied 
of the origin of this Indian tradition. 

THE TRUE CHRISTIANS IN THIS LAND ARE 
INDIANS. 

A council of chiefs' reply to the missionary in 1805, at 
the Six Nations, by Sagnym Whathah, alias Red Jacket 
[Philanthropist.] 

Friend and Brother: — It was the will of the Great 
Spirit, that we should meet together this day. He orders 
all things ; and has given us a fine day for our council. 
He has taken his garment from before the sun, and 
caused it to shine with brightness. Our eyes are opened, 
that we may see clearly; our ears are unstopped, that we 
have been able to hear distinctly, the word you have 
spoken. For all these favors we thank the Great Spirit 
— and him only. 

Brother, listen to what we say. There was a time 
when our forefathers owned this great island; their seats 
extended from the rising to the setting sun — the Great 
Spirit had made it for the use of the Indians. He had 
created the buffalo, the deer, and other animals for food. 
He had made the bear and the beaver; their skin served 
us for clothing. He had scattered them over the coun- 
try, and taught us how to take them. He had caused 
the earth to produce ( orn for bread. All these he has 
done for his red children, because he had loved them. 

If we had disputes about our hunting ground, they 
were generally settled without the shedding of blood. 
But an evil day is come upon us; your forefathers crossed 
the great waters, and landed on this island. Their num- 
ber was small. They found us friends and not enemies. 
They told us that they had fled from their own coun- 
try through fear of wicked men, and had come here to 
enjoy their religion. They asked for a small seat. We 
took pity on them, and granted their request, and they 
sat down among us. We gave them corn and meat, and 
in return they gave us poison. The white people having 
now found our country good, tidings were sent back and 
more came among us. Yet we did not fear them. We 



274 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

took them to be friends. They called us brothers; we 
believed them, and gave them a larger seat. At length 
their number so increased, that they wanted more land 
— they wanted our country. Our eyes were opened: 
and we became uneasy. War took place. Indians v/ere 
hired to fight against Indians; and many of our people 
were destroyed. They also distributed liquor amongst 
us — which has slain thousands. 

Brother: — once our seats were large, and yours were 
small. You have now become a great people; and we 
have scarcely a place left to spread our blankets. You 
have got our country, but are not satisfied. You want to 
force your religion upon us. 

Brother, continue to listen. You say you are sent to 
instruct us how to worship the Great Spirit, agreeably to 
his mind; and, that if we do not take hold of the religion 
which you teach, we shall be unhappy hereafter. How 
do we know this to be true? We understand that your 
religion is written in a book. If it was intended for us 
as well as you, why has not the Great Spirit given it to 
us? and not only to us, but why did he not give to our 
forefathers the knowledge of that book, with the means 
of rightly understanding it? We only know what you 
tell us about it: and having been so often deceived by 
white people, how shall we believe what they say ? 

Brother, you say there is but one way to worship and 
serve the Great Spirit. If there is but one religion, why 
do you white people differ so much about it? why not all 
agree, as you can all read the Book. 

Brother, we do not understand these things. We 
are told that your religion was given to your forefathers; 
and has been handed down from father to son. We also 
have a religion, which was given to our forefathers; and 
has been handed down to us. It teaches us to be thank- 
ful for all favors received; to love each other, and be 
unitad. We never quarrel about religion. 

Brother, the Great Spirit made us all. But he has 
made a great difference between his white and his red 
children. He has given us different complexions, and 
different customs. To you he has given the arts — to 
these he has not opened our eyes. Since he has made 
so great a difference between us in other things, why 
may he not have given us a different religion? The 



THE TRUE CHRISTIANS IN THIS LAND ARE INDIANS. 275 

Great Spirit does right. He knows what is best for his 
children. 

Brother, we do not want to destroy your religion; or 
to take it from you. We only want to enjoy our own. 

Brother, we have been told that you have been preach- 
ing to the white people in this place. These people are 
our neighbors. We will wait a little, and see what ef- 
fect your preaching has had upon them. If we find it 
makes them honest, and less disposed to cheat Indiaps, 
we will then consider again of what you have said. 

Brother, you have now heard our answer; and this is 
all we have to say at present. As we are about to part, 
we will come and take you by the hand; and we hope 
the Great Spirit will protect you on your journey, and 
return you safe to your friends. 

Whole families of Christian Indians were murdered 
in cool blood by the whites. This circumstance is but 
one in a thousand: — 

Upon the banks of the Ohio, a party of two hundred 
white warriors, in 1757, or about that time, came across 
a settlement of Christian Indians, and falsely accused 
them of being warriors; to which they denied, but all to 
no purpose; they were determined to massacre them all. 
They, the Indians, then asked liberty to prepare for the 
fatal hour. The white savages then gave them one hour, 
as the historian said. 

They then prayed together; and in tears and cries, 
upon their knees, begged pardon of each other, of all 
they had done. After which they informed the white 
savages that they were now ready. One white man then 
begun with a mallet, and knocked them down, and con- 
tinued his work until he had killed fifteen with his own 
hand; then saying it ached, he gave his commission to 
another. And thus they continued till they had massa- 
cred nearly ninety men, women and children, all these 
innocent of any crime. What sad tales are these, for us 
to look upon the massacre of our dear fathers, mothers, 
brothers and sisters; and if we speak, we are then called 
savages for complaining. Our affections for each other 
are the same as yours; we think as much of ourselves 
as the whites do of themselves. 



276 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

The Aboriginal Indians of Amazonia. — These na- 
tives, like all other Americans, are of a good stature- 
have handsome features — long black hair, and copper 
complexions. They are said to have a taste for the imi- 
tative arts, especially painting and sculpture, and make 
good mechanics. They spin and weave cotton cloth, 
and build their houses with wood and clay, and thatch 
them with reeds. Their arms, in general, are darts and 
javelins — bows and arrows, with targets of cane or fish 
skins. The several nations are governed by their chiefs 
or cassiques. 

America was originally peopled by Christian nations, 
which lived mostly by hunting and fishing. The Euro- 
peans, who first visited these shores, treated the natives 
as wild beasts of the forests, and hunted the Indians down 
with dogs and guns!" 

The native inhabitants of America are of a copper- 
color, (red, black and white,) have black, thick, straight 
hair, fla* noses, high cheek bones, and small eyes. They 
paint the body and face of various colors, and eradicate 
the hair of their beards and other parts, as a deformity. 
Their limbs are not so large and robust, as those of the 
Europeans. They endure hunger, thirst and pain with 
astonishing firmness and patience; and, though cruel to 
their enemies, they are kind and just to each other. 

Georgia. — The Indian tribes within the vicinity of 
this district, are the Cherokees and Chickasaws. The 
Cherokees have been a warlike and numerous nation; 
but by continual wars, in which it has been their destiny 
to be engaged with the northern Indian tribes, they were 
reduced at the commencement of the last war, to about 
2,000 fighting men. 

The Creek Indians represent this as the most blissful 
epot on earth. They say it is inhabited by a peculiar 
race of Indians, whose women are incomparably beauti- 
ful. They were called daughters of the sun, who 
kindly gave to strangers. Their husbands were fierce 
men, and cruel to their enemies. 

The people of God, who were murdered by thousands, 
— men, women and children, — under the act made by 
Congress, in cold blood murder, to obtain their land. 
Woe unto the nation — the United States of America. 



THE TRUE CHRISTIANS IN THIS LAND ARE INDIANS. 277 

The islands ofCuba and Hispaniola were discovered by 
Columbus. After having built several houses on these 
islands, he returned to Spain. 

Hispaniola contained three millions of natives; the 
inhabitants of Cuba were above six hundred thousand. 

Bartholomew de las Casas, bishop of Chi^pa, who was 
an eye witness to these desolations, relates, that they 
hunted down the natives with dogs. This race of men, 
almost naked, and without arms, were pursued like wild 
beasts in the forests, devoured alive by dogs, shot to 
death, or surprised and burnt in their habitations. 

He farther declares, from ocular testimony, that they 
frequently caused a number of these native inhabitants 
to be summoned by a pricvSt to come in, and submit tu the 
Christian religion, and to the king of Spain ; and that 
after this ceremony, which was only an additional act of 
injustice, they put them to death without the least re- 
morse. 

" Vengeance is mine, and I will repay saith the 
Lord." Thus we see the Island of Hispaniola, or St. 
Domingo was taken from the white Spaniards, or French, 
and given to the blacks; and so shall the island of Cuba 
be taken away, and given to the blacks and Indians of 
the island. 

The following is a true copy of a Speech, composed 
by a North American Indian, without any assistance, or 
correction of any one, but those of his own color, [The- 
ological Magazine.] 

" To the great Sachem and Chiefs of the State of , 

now iiitting around the Great Council fire at 



"Brothers, Before jou cover your council fire, we beg 
your attention to the voice of your brethren. The dit- 

erent tribes of speak to you, in remembrance of 

the friendship you have manifested towards them in all 
our treaties. 

"We, ourselves, have held councils at different times, 
to contemplate the welfare of our nations, because we 
cannot but groan to see our situation. It is almost mel- 
ancholy to reflect upon the ways of our forefathers. 

"Brothers, You are, also, sometimes sorry to see the 
deplorable situation of our Indian brethren, for v/hich 



278 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

you have given us so many good counsels, though we 
feel ourselves willing to follow your counsel, but it has 
made no effect as yet. Our situation is still miserable. 
Our ancestors were conquered immediately after you 
came over to this land, by the strong Hero, who does still 
reign among the Indian tribes with tyranny; who has 
robbed us of every thing that was precious in our eyes. 
But we need not mention every thing particular, how 
this tyrant has used us; for your eyes have been open 
to behold our dismal situation. By the power of our en- 
emy, our eyes have been blinded; our young men seem to 
become willing slaves to this despotic hero. So, by that, 
we displease the Great Good Spirit, and could not be- 
come civilized people. In looking back, we see nothing 
but desolation of our mighty men; in looking forward, 
we foresee the desolation of our tribes. 

'' Our chiefs have used their endeavors to reform their 
respective people, but having seen no success, they seem 
discouraged, and hang down their heads. 

" Brothers, In remembrance of your kind promises, 
we unite our cries to you for help. Perhaps you are 
ready to think, what man that must be, that has abused 
so much of our brethren.'' Never was such hero or ty- 
rant heard, that ever meddled with Indians. But in lit- 
terally, he is your own begotten son, and his name you 
call Rum. And the names of his officers are Brandy, 
Wine and Gin, and we know you have power to control 
him; and as we desire to live in peace, and to become 
civilized nations, we earnestly entreat you to use your 
power and'wisdom, to prevent all people who may cause 
Rum and all other spirituous liquors to come into the 
hand of our tribes, throughout your state. In your 
compliance with this our request, we will ever acknowl- 
edge your friendship, is from your brethren, chiefs and 

warriors of nation. 

Done at , on the 5th day of March, 1796. 

J. S. 

C. T. 

W. T. 

N. C. 

U. A., &c." 



THE TRUE CHRISTIANS IN THIS LAND ARE INDIANS. 279 

Extract of a Speech, delivered hy an Indian Chief called 

Little Turtle. 

*' Brothers and friends, when our forefathers first met 
on this island, your red brothers were very numerous, but 
since the introduction amongst us of what you call spirit- 
uous liquors, and what we think may be justly called 
poison, our numbers are greatly diminished; it has des- 
troyed a great part of your red brothers. 

" Brothers and friends, we plainly perceive the very 
evil which has destroyed your red brethren, is not an 
evil of our own making; we have not placed it among 
ourselves, it is an evil placed among us by the white peo- 
ple, we look to them to remove it out of our country. 
We tell them, brethren, bring us useful things, bring 
goods that will clothe us, our women, our children; and 
not this evil liquor, that destroys our health, destroys 
our lives; but all we can say is of no service, nor gives 
relief to your red brethren. It causes our young men to 
say, We had better be at war with the white people; the 
liquor which they introduce into our country is more to 
be feared, than the gun or the tomahawk; 

"Brothers, when our young men have been out a 
hunting, and are returning home loaded with skins and 
furs, on their way it happens that they come along where 
some of this whiskey is deposited: the white man who 
sells it, tells them to take a little drink; some of them 
will say no, I do not want it. They go on till they come 
to another house, where they find more of the same 
kind of drink, it is there offered again, they refuse again 
the third time, but finally, the fourth or fifth one accepts 
of it, and takes a drink, and getting one, he wants 
another, and then a third; and a fourth, till his senses 
have left him; after his reason comes back to him, when 
he gets up, and finds where he is, he asks for his peltry, 
the answer is, you have drank them. Where is my gun? 
It is gone! Where is my shirt.'' You have sold it for 
whiskey! Now, brethren figure to yourselves what con- 
dition this man must be in. He has a family at home; a 
wife and children, who stand in need of the profits of his 
hunting. What must be their wants, when he himself is 
without a shirt?" 



280 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 



CHAPTER V. 



THE ARTS AND SCIENCES. 



EARLY DISCOVERIES, INVENTIONS, &c. 

The discoveries, inventions and improvements made 
by the Egyptians and Ethiopians, in early times, 
must have been very great. The Arts and Sciences 
were studied in the first age of the Egyptian monarchy. 
Previous to the invention of the alphabet, the Egyptians 
had discovered and systematized a method of transmit- 
ting ideas by hieroglyphics. It was a representa- 
tion of thought, by figures of animals and other things, 
to whom the Chinese are indebted. 

Memnon, an Egyptian, invented the first letters. The 
celebrated Cadmus introduced them into Greece. It 
is said these characters or letters were Egyptian, and 
Cadmus himself was a native of Egypt, and not of Phoe- 
nicia; and the Egyptians, who ascribe to themselves the 
invention of every art, and boast a greater antiquity 
than any other nation, give to their Mercury the honor 
of inventing letters. Most of the learned agree, that 
Cadmus carried the Phoenician, Egyptian, or Syrian let- 
ters into Greece about 1519 years B. C, and that these 
letters were Hebraic. The Hebrews are a small nation 
of that country, under the general name of Syrians. 
The alphabet which he introduced into Greece, con- 
sisted of sixteen letters. And the mode of writing was 
alternately from left to right and from right to left, [as the 
Arabians and Moors now write.] He is said to have taught 
the people navigation and the principles of commerce, the 
manner of cultivating the vine, and the art of forging and 



THE ARTS AND SCIENCES. !2$i 

working metals. The introduction of Cadmus' letters into 
Greece, was a great advance which the Greeks made in 
knowledge and civilization. 

Palamedes invented four letters at the siege of Troy, 
1134 years B. C, and Simonides invented four more 
many years afterwards. 

The Grecian and Roman alphabets were derived 
from these letters, which were the same as the Samari- 
tan, and were used by the Jews, Ethiopians, before 
the Babylonish captivity. 

The ancient books, rolls, volumes or scrolls were 
formed in Egypt, and a kind of paper was made from the 
stalk of an Egyptian vegetable called papyrus or paper 
reed, which is still found in various parts of India. The 
stalk was slit with a needle, into plates or layers, as 
broad and thin as possible. Some of them were ten or 
fifteen inches broad. These strips were laid side by side, 
upon a fiat horizontal surface, and then immersed 
in the water of the Nile; which not only served as a kind 
of sizing, but also caused the edges of the strips to ad- 
here together as if glued. The sheets thus formed were 
dried in the sun, and then covered with a fine wash, 
which made them smooth and flexible. They were fi- 
nally beaten with hammers, and polished. Twenty or 
more of these sheets were sometimes connected in one roll. 

A sealed book, was a roll fastened together by a band 
or string, and a seal affixed to the knot. 

Book of the generation signifies the genealogical his- 
tory, or records of a family or nation. 

The pen or style was made of some hard substance, 
perhaps not unlike the instruments used by glaziers to 
cut glass. [Jer. xvii. 1.] Upon tablets of wax an instru- 
ment was used, one end of which was pointed, to mark 
the letters, and the other broad and flat, to make era- 
sures. Pens or styles of copper are now usad by the 
Ceylonese. On soft substances, like linen or papyrus, 
the marks were painted with a fine hair pencil, as is 
practised among the Chinese to this day. Hence the 
word sii//e, signifying one's manner of writing — easy 
style, elegant style, 8fc. 

Most of the eastern nations now use the reed-pen. 
Ink was prepared from a variety of substances; and. 
19 



LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

those who were skilful in writing wore an ink-horn fast- 
ened to the girdle, [Ezek. ix. 2,] which is the present 
mode among the Persians and the Moors of Barbary. 

The Egyptians invented the art of embalming the 
dead, viz., the Kino[s, Queens, Prophets, Priests, Rulers, 
&c., &.C. After death they were embalmed and put into 
a pyramid or tomb, built of marble, stone or brick, rich- 
ly ornamented with men, beasts, birds and reptiles, en- 
graved or carved work. 

Coffins were used in Egypt and Babylon, but are un- 
known in the east, even at the present day, except when 
a body is to be conveyed to a distant place. 

The embalming was not general among the Jews, 
though spices, &c. were used in their burials. [2 Chron. 
xvi. 14. .lohn xix. 40.] Jacob and Joseph, whose be clies 
were embalmed, both died in Egypt, where the art ot ^;m- 
balming was very skilfully practised. In Jacob's case, 
we are told that .Joseph commanded his servants, the 
physicians, to embalm his father, and then he was placed 
in a coffin, in Egypt. And thence his body was carried 
to Machpelah, in Canaan, and buried. [Gen. 1. 2, 7^ 8.] 

Raiment was at first made of the skins of beasts, [Gen iii. 
21;] but the art of spinning and weaving was soon invented, 
[Ex. xxviii. 42,] and even embroidering, [Ex. xxxv 35 ] 

Linen. [Lev. xiii. 47.] This cloth was much celebrated 
in ancient times. The best linen was anciently made in 
Egypt, as their country afforded the finest flax, [Prov, vii. 
16,] and Solomon, it seems, bought linen yarn in Ei-ypt. 
[1 Kings x. 23.] It is supposed that linen was ancieutly 
used for writing on, and the letters formed with a pericil. 
It was much valued and used in ancient as in modern 
times. Fine white linen is, in Scripture, the emblem of 
innocence, or moral purity. [Rev. xv, 6.] 

The era of Sesostris was called the second age. During 
this age,« architecture, and the arts of war were chiefly cul- 
tivated. Owing to the oppression of the times, many Egyp- 
tians left their native country, and settled colonies in other 
lands, carrying with them their arts and sciences. From 
Sesostris to Amasis, was the third age — one of luxury 
and conquest. 

It was the Egyptians that discovered the elementary prin- 
ciples ; studied the sciences and arts, and the phenomena, 



THE ARTS AND SCIENCES. 283 

and laws of nature ; gave names to the planets, and furnished 
the archetype of those civil and religious systems, wjjich 
prevailed in that quarter of the world, and have since spread 
into every civilized nation. 

The celebrated Prometheus was the first that struck fire 
with a flint. 

'1 he first ship was built in Egypt by the Egyptians. 

The first pump was invented by the celebrated Archi- 
medes, in Egypt; and in Egypt the first libraries were 
formed. 

The library of Alexandria, in Egypt, previous to its 
being burned in the tirne of Pompey's reign, was the 
richest in the world. It contained four hundred thousand 
valuable volumes in MSJS. Egypt was considered, by all 
the ancients, as the most renovved school for wisdom and 
politics; and the source from whence most arts and sci- 
ences were derived. 'I'his kingdom bestowed its noblest 
labors and finest arts upon the improvement of mankind ; 
and Greece was so sensible of this, that its most illustrious 
men, as Homer, Pythagoras, Plato, and even its great legis- 
lators,— Lycurgus, the reformer of the Spartan Republic, 
and Solon, the legislator of Athens, and the wisest men 
of Greece, and many others travelled into Egypt to com- 
plete their studies, and draw from that fountain whatever 
was rare and valuable in every kind of learning. 

At Alexandria was the chief school in Egypt, where the 
arts and sciences were taualit. 

Philosophy, 'J'he art of knowledge, natural or moral. 

Mathnuatici^, The science which contemplates whatever 
is capable of being numbered or measured. 

Jurisprudence, The science 6t law. 

Mfidicine, The science of healing. 

Magic, The arc of putting in action the power of spirits. 

The principles of geometry were discovered by the cel- 
ebrated Euclid, an Ethiopian, and were written in Greek. 

The admeasurement of the lands, annually disturbed by 
the overflowing of the Nile, induced to the cultivation of 
geometry by the Egyptians, 

Geometry treats of the powers and properties of magni- 
tudes in general, where length, breadth, and thickness'are 
considered, from a point to a line, from a line to a super- 
ficies, and from a superficies to a solid. 



284 LIGHT AND TRUTH, 

A point is a dimensionless figure ; or an indivisible part 
of a space. 

A line is a point continued, and a figure of one capaci- 
ty, namely, length. 

A superficies is a figure of two dimensions, namely, 
length and breadth, 

A solid is a figure of three dimensions, namely, length, 
breadth, and thickness. 

The Advantages of Geometry. — By this science the 
architect is enabled to construct his plans, and execute 
his designs; the general to arrange his soldiers; the geog- 
rapher to give us the dimensions of the world, and all 
things therein contained ; to delineate the extent of the 
seas, and specify the divisions of empires, kingdoms and 
provinces. By it, also, the astronomer is enabled to make 
his observations, and to fix the duration of times and sea- 
sons, years and cycles. 

In fine, geometry is the foundation of architecture, and 
the root of the mathematics. 

The Moral Advantages of Geometry. — Geometry 
is the first and noblest of sciences. By it we may curious- 
ly trace nature, through her various windings, to her most 
concealed recesses. By it we may discover the power, the 
wisdom, and the goodness of the grand art of the universe, 
and view with delight the proportions which connect this 
vast machine. 

By it we may discover how the planets move in their dif- 
ferent orbits, and demonstrate their various revolutions. 
By it we account for the return of seasons, &c. 

The Reckoners of Time. — Derivation of the names 
of the days, and times of the beginning of the day, among 
the ancient blacks. 

Sunday derived its name from the sun ; Monday from 
the moon ; Tuesday from the word Tuisco ; Wednesday 
from Woden — the name of a heathen deity ; Thursday 
fromThor; Friday from Friga ; and Saturday from Sat- 
ivum. 

The Athenians and Jews began their day at sunsetting; 
^ a custom followed by the Austrians, Bohemians, Silesians, 
, Italians and Chinese. 

The Babylonians, Persians, Syrians, and most of the 
eastern nations, began their day at sun-rise. 



THE ARTS AND SCIENCES. 285 

The Egyptians and Romans began their day at mid- 
night, and are followed by the English, Americans, French, 
Germans, Dutch and Portuguese. 

The Arabians began their day at noon. 

The following arts and sciences were first discovered by 
the Egyptians and Ethiopians : — The art of reading, writ- 
ing, letters and figures, building, making, moulding, carv- 
ing, casting, forging, engraving, carding, spinning, weav- 
ing, dying, sawing, ploughing, planting, reaping, thresh- 
ing, winnowing, grinding, preserving, embalming, naviga- 
tion, fighting, &c., &c. 

Art op War, and Soldiers of Egypt. — Herodotus 
says that two thousand guards attended annually upon the 
kings of Egypt. Four hundred thousand soldiers were 
kept continually in pay — all natives of Egypt ; and 
trained in the exactest discipline. Shishak, king of Egypt, 
came up against Jerusalem with 120 chariots, and 60,000 
horsemen, and soldiers without number. [2 Chron. xii. 
3.] They were inured to the fatigues of war, by a severe 
and rigorous education. There is an art of disciplining 
the body as well as the mind : and this art was well known 
to the Egyptians ; we have lost it by our sloth. Foot, 
horse and chariot races were performed in Egypt with 
wonderful agility ; and the world could not show better 
horsemen than the Egyptians. The profession of arms 
was in great repute among them. After the sacerdotal 
families, the most illustrious, as with us, were those devoted 
to a military life. They were not only distinguished by 
honors, but by ample pecuniary rewards. Every soldier 
was furnished with a quantity of land, and was exempted 
from all tax or tribute. Besides this privilege, each sol- 
dier received a daily allowance of five pounds of bread, 
two of flesh, and a pint of wine. This allowance was suf- 
ficient to support part of their family. Such an indulgence 
itiade them more affectionate to the person o^ their prince, 
and the interests of their country, and more resolute in 
the defence of both ; and, as Diodorus observes, it was 
thought inconsistent with good policy, and even common 
sense, to commit the defence of a country to men who had 
no interest in its preservation. 

Military laws were easily preserved in Egypt, because 
sons received them from their fathers ; the profession of 
war, as all others, being transmitted from father to son. 



286 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

Those who fled in battle, or discovered any signs of 
cowardice, were only distinguished by some particular 
mark of ignominy; it being thought more advisable to re- 
strain them by motives of honor, than by the terrors of 
punishment. 

But notwithstanding this, I will not pretend to say, that 
the Egyptians were a warlike people. It is of little advan- 
tage lo have regular and well-paid troops; to have armies 
exercised in peace, and employed only in mock fights ; it 
is war alone, and real combats, which form the soldier. 
Eijypt loved peace, because it loved justice, and maintained 
soldiers only for its security. Its inhabitants, content with 
a country which abounded in all things, had no ambitious 
dreams of conquest. The Egyptians extended their repu- 
tation in a very different manner, by sending colonies into 
all parts of the world, and with them laws and politeness. 
They triumphed by the wisdom of their counsels, and the 
superiority of their knowledge : and this empire of the 
mind appeared more noble and glorious to them, than that 
which is achieved by arms and conquests. But neverthe- 
less, Egypt has given birth to illustrious conquerors. 

Thr History of Music. — The origin of the ancient 
music, with the perfect knowledge we have, not only of the 
instruments, but of the system by which those instruments 
were tuned, and the manner in which they were performed. 
Jubal was " the father of all such as handle the harp and the 
organ," the son of Lamech, who first lived in tents, and a 
brother of Noah ; the celebrated Tubalcain, " an instructor 
of every artificer in brass and iron." Thus early did the 
necessities of man establish the right of property, and orig- 
inate the mechanic arts. And the Patriarchal government 
which existed in the Antedeluvian ages, the knowledge 
and experience acquired in a life of many centuries, must 
have been favorable to a high degree of perfection in these 
arts, and the science of music. 

The celebrated Egyptians — the descendants of the Ethi- 
opians, were the first who acquired a knowledge of music, 
after the flood of waters was upon the earth, and bestowed 
the honor of its parentage upon the Trismegistus, or thrice 
illustrious, Egyptian Mercury. "The Nile," says Apollo- 
dorus, " after having overflowed the whole country of 
Egypt, when it returned within its natural bounds, left on 
the shore a great number of dead animals of various kinds, 



THE ARTS AND SCIENCES. 287 

and, among the rest, a tortoise; the flesh of which being 
dried and wasted by the sun, nothing was left within the 
shell but nerves and cartilages, which, braced and con- 
tracted by desiccation, were rendered sonorous. Mercury, 
walking along the banks of the river, chanced to strike 
his foot against the shell of this tortoise, was pleased with 
the sound it produced, and upon reflection, conceived the 
idea of a lyre, which instrument he afterwards constructed 
in the form of a tortoise, stringing it with the dried sinews 
of dead animals." 

The flute, or monaulos, according to Plutarch, was the 
invention of ApolJo; while Athenaeus [in Juba's Theatri- 
cal History] attributes its origin to the great Egyptian ruler 
and legislator, Osiris. Its first shape is said to have been 
that of a bull's horn : and Apuleius, speaking of its uses 
in the mysteries of Iris, call it the cnmked jiate. 

'i^e celerated Egyptians or Africans of Egypt, were, at 
a very early age, a people who took an elevated stand in 
the civilized world, and were familiar with all the varieties 
of knowledge which flourished in those days. The influ- 
ence of civilization extended to the people inhabiting the 
adjoining countries. 

About 285 years B. C, the distinguished Dionysius, of 
Alexandria, began his astronomical era on Monday, June 
26, being the first who found the solar year to consist ex- 
actly of 365 days, 5 hours, and 49 minutes. 

ASTRONOMY. 

The Ptolemaic System was so called from Ptolemeus, 
an Ethiopian, a celebrated astronomer of Pelusiura, in 
Egypt, who adopted and defended the prevailing system 
of that age. This Egyptian astronomer lived 130 years 
B. C. He supposed the earth immovably fixed in the 
centre of the universe, around which moved the sun and 
the planets from east to west, once in twenty-four hours, 
in the following order: the Moon, Mercury, Venus, the 
Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Herschel; and beyond these 
were placed the fixed stars. 

Astronomy was first attended to by the shepherds, on 
the beautiful plains of Egypt and Babylon. The Ethio- 
pians, shepherds of Egypt and Chaldea, first acquired 



288 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

the knowledge of the stars, and designated them by 
proper names. The Thebans, says Diodorus, consider 
themselves the most ancient people of the East, and 
assert that philosophy and the science of the stars origin- 
ated with. them. 

Astronomy is the science which describes the heavenly 
bodies — the sun, planets, fixed stars and comets. As- 
sisted by astronomy we can observe the magnitude and 
calculate the periods and eclipses of the heavenly bodies. 
By it we learn the use of globes, the system of the world, 
and the preliminary law of nature. While we are em- 
ployed in the study of this science, we must perceive 
unparalleled instances of wisdom and goodness through 
the whole creation, and trace the glorious Author by his 
works. 

Sun, the great source of light and heat; brought into 
existence on the fourth day of creation. The diameter 
of the sun is about 800,000 miles. His distance from 
our earth is ninety-five millions of miles; so that light, 
which flies at the inconceivable swiftness of two hun- 
dred thousand miles in a second, requires eight minutes 
to reach our earth! A cannon ball shot thence, and 
moving with unabated swiftness, viz., (according to 
Durham,) a mile in eight and a half seconds, would 
take about thirty years to reach our earth. 

Moon, or lesser light, is a planet revolving round the 
earth, and reflecting the light of the sun. 

The use of the Globes was first found out by the 
Egyptians. The Globes are two artificial spherical 
bodies, on the convex surface of which are represented 
the countries, seas, and various parts of the earth, the 
face of the heavens, the planetary revolutions and other 
particulars. 

Their principal use, beside serving as maps to distin- 
guish the outward parts of the earth, and the situation of 
the fixed stars, is to illustrate and explain the phenomena 
arising from the annual revolution, and the diurnal rota- 
tion, of the earth round its own axis. They are the 
noblest instruments for improving the mind, and giving 
it the most distinct idea of any problem or proposition, 
as well as enabling it to solve the same. Contemplating 
these bodies, we are inspired with a due reverence for 



THE ARTS AND SCIENCES. 289 

the Deity and his works, and are induced to encourage 
the studies of astronomy, geography, and navigation, 
and the arts dependent on them, by which man has been 
so much benefitted. 

Maps, globes, and the signs of the Zodiac, invented 
by Anaximander, the scholar of Thales. 

RHETORIC. 

'This science was first taught by the celebrated Apol- 
linarii, of Africa. Victorinus, of Africa, had professed 
Rhetoric many years at Rome, and was held in such high 
reputation that a public statue was erected to his honor 
in that city. 

Rhetoric teaches us to speak copiously and fluently on 
any subject, not merely with propriety alone, but with 
all the advantages offeree and elegance, wisely contriving 
to captivate the hearer by strength of argument and 
beauty of expression, whether it be to entreat or exhort, 
to admonish or applaud. 

The Egyptians first acquired the knowledge of Logic, 
Arithmetic and orders of Architecture. 

Logic teaches us to guide our reason discretionally in 
the general knowledge of things, and directs our inqui- 
ries after truth. It consists of a regular train of argu- 
ment, whence we infer, deduce, and conclude, according 
to certain premises laid down, admitted, or granted; and 
in it are employed the faculties of conceiving, judging; 
reasoning and disposing; all of which are naturally led 
on from one gradation to another, till the point in ques- 
tion is finally determined. 
' Arithmetic teaches the powers and properties of num- 
bers, which is variously effected, by letters, tables, fig- 
ures and instruments. By this art, reasons and demon- 
strations are given for finding out any certain number, 
whose relation or affinity to another is already known or 
discovered. 

ARCHITECTURE. 

From the first formation of society, order in architec- 
ture may be traced. When the rigor of seasons obliged 
"men to contrive sheher from the inclemency of the 



290 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

weather, we learn that they first planted trees ori end, 
and then laid others across, to support a covering. The 
bands which connected those trees at top and bottom, 
are said to have given rise to the idea of the base and 
capital of pillars, and from this simple hint originally 
proceeded the more improved art of architecture. By 
order in architecture is meant a system of propor- 
tions, and ornaments of columns and pilasters; — or, it is 
a regular arrangement of the projecting parts of a 
building, which, united with those of a column, form a 
beautiful, perfect, and complete whole. 

Ships. — Noah's ark was probably the first vessel of 
this kind ever formed. 

The first ship that was built was called the Egyptian 
Argus. She was brought into Greece from Egypt by 
Danaus, who arrived at Rhodis, with his five daughters. 

By order of Nechao or Pharaoh Necho, king of Egypt, 
some Phoenicians sailed from the Red Sea round Africa, 
and returned by the Mediterranean. 

The tribes of Zebulon and Dan appear to have early 
engaged in commerce. 

Solomon, king of Israel, married Psammis, or Nechao 
Pharaoh's daughter, and was furnished by Hiram with 
seamen to navigate vessels to Ophir. The account of 
these voyages we have in 1 Kings ix. 26-28; and also 
chapter x. 5-22. Once in Lhree years the king's navy 
came, bringing from Ophir gold and silver, ivory, apes, 
and peacocks. 

Ezion Geber, the port from whence they set out, lies 
on the Red Sea, at the upper part. Down this sea they 
came, and along the coast of Africa, till they reached 
the country now called Sofala; but then known under 
the name of Ophir. They were three years in going 
and returning, and after king Solomon, Jehoshaphat 
sent out vessels to trade by sea. 

The Trojans were powerful at sea, but the Tyrians 
and Sidonians for many ages were much more so; and 
after them, the Carthaginians. The Greeks were also 
in their turns famous by sea. Their navigation, howev- 
er, was very imperfect, as, even in the time of Paul, 
vessels passing from Judea to Italy, frequently wintered 
on the way. The vessels were small, and generally had 



THE ARTS AND SCIENCES. 291 

oars, as well as sails. The compass being unknown, 
they dared not go out of sight of land. 

The ancients of Gebal, and the wise men thereof, 
were in thee thy caulkers; all the ships of the sea, with 
their mariners, were in thee, to occupy thy merchan- 
dise. (Ezek. xxvii. 9.) 

The Phoenicians, an Ethiopian nation, greatly im- 
proved the art of navigation. But the world is indebted 
to the Ethiopians for blessings greater even than their 
alphabet, geometry, and navigation. These great prin- 
ciples would have been useless if unapplied, and if 
wrongly applied, worse than useless. The knowledge of 
its use gives an instrument its value; and this knowledge 
accompanied these principles. It was the true, practical 
wisdom of the Egyptians, by which the Grecian legisla- 
tors raised their state to such dignity. The wisdom of 
the Egyptians pointed out the correct application of these 
principles, which it had first shown important, invaluable; 
and doubtless suggested many of the improvements 
which the Grecians afterwards made upon them. But 
for the Egyptians, Greece might have remained a coun- 
try of barbarians to this day; the world, in consequence, 
in want of the rich stores of Grecian lore, and Rome, 
uncivilized by the arts and sciences of Greece, might 
have risen and fallen, distinguished only for its glory in 
blood and military horrors. The Egyptian sciences, 
and the religious feelings which the Grecians imbibed 
while studying in Egypt, and which they carefully cher- 
ished and diffused in their own country, are the parents 
of the boasted civilization and of much of the mental and 
physical enjoyments of those who, while they participate 
in them, are manifesting their grateful emotions in their 
barbarous, soul-sickening treatment of the offspring of 
their benefactors. 

Pyramids, — A Pyramid is a solid or hollow body hav- 
ing a large and generally a square base and terminating 
in a point. 

There were three pyramids in Egypt more famous than 
the rest, one whereof deserved to be ranked among the 
seven wonders of the world; they did not stand very far 
from the city of Memphis. I shall take notice here only of 
the largest of the three. This pyramid, like the rest. 



292 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

was built on a rock, having a square base, cut on the 
outside of so many steps, and decreasing gradually quite 
to the summit. It was built with stones of a prodigious 
size, the least of which were thirty feet, wrought with 
wonderful art, and covered with hieroglyphics. Ac- 
cording to several ancient authors, each side was eight 
hundred feet broad and as many high. The summit of 
the pyramids, which to those who viewed it from below, 
seemed a point, was a fine platform, composed of ten or 
twelve massy stones, and each side of that platform six- 
teen or eighteen feet long. 

M. de Chazelles, of the Academy of Sciences, who 
went purposely on the spot in 1693, gives us the follow- 
ing dimensions. 

The side of the square base, 110 fathoms. 

The fronts are equilateral triangles, and > 12,100 square 
therefore the superficies of the base is ) fathoms. 
The perpendicular height, 77 3-6 fathoms. 

The solid contents, 313,590 cubical fathoms. 

An hundred thousand men were constantly employed 
about this work, and were relieved every three months 
by the same number. Ten complete years were spent 
in hewing out the stones, either in Arabia or Ethiopia, 
and in conveying them to Egypt; and twenty years more 
in building this immense edifice, the inside of which 
contained numberless rooms and apartments. There 
was expressed on the pyramid, in Egyptian characters, 
the sums it cost only in garlic, leeks, onions, and the 
like, for the workmen; and the whole amounted to six- 
teen hundred talents of silver, (about £25,000 sterling,) 
that is, four millions five hundred thousand French livres; 
from whence it was easy to conjecture what a vast sum the 
whole must have amounted to. 

Pliny gives us, in a few words, a just idea of these 
pyramids, when he calls them a foolish and useless os- 
tentation of the wealth of the Egyptian kings; Regum 
pecunicB otiosa ah stulta ostentio ; and adds, that by a just 
punishment, their memory is buried in oblivion; the 
historians not agreeing among themselves about the 
names of those who first raised those vain monuments. 
Inter eos non constant a quibus factor sint, justissimo casu 
obliteratis tantce vanitatis audoribus. In a word, accord- 



THE ARTS AND SCIENCES. 

ing to the judicious remark of Diodorus, the industry of 
the architects of those pyramids is no less valuable and 
praiseworthy, than the design of the Egyptian kings con- 
temptible and ridiculous. 

But what we should most admire in these ancient mon- 
uments, is, the true and standing evidence they give of 
the skill of the Egyptians in astronomy ; that is, in a 
science which seems incapable of being brought to per- 
fection, but by a long series of years, and a great num- 
ber of observations. M. de Chazelles, when he meas- 
ured the great pyramid in question, found that the four 
sides of it were turned exactly to the four quarters of the 
world, and consequently showed the true meridian of that 
place. Now, as so exact a situation was in all probabil- 
ity purposely pitched upon by those who piled up this 
huge mass of stones, above three thousand years ago, it 
follows, that during so long a space of time, there has 
been no alteration in the heavens in that respect, or 
(which amounts to the same thing) in the poles of the 
earth or the meridians. This is M. de Fontenelle's 
remark in his eulogium of M. de Chazelles. 

What has been said concerning the judgment we ought 
to form of the pyramids, may also be applied to the Laby- 
rinth, which Herodotus, who saw it, assures us was still 
more surprising than the pyramids. It was built at the 
most southern part of the lake of Moeris, whereof men- 
tion will be made presently, near the town of Croco- 
diles, the same with Arsinoe. It was not so much one 
single palace, as a magnificent pile composed of twelve 
palaces, regularly disposed, which had a communication 
with each other. Fifteen hundred rooms, interspersed 
with terraces, were ranged round twelve halls, and dis- 
covered no outlet to such as went to see them. There 
were the like number of buildings under ground. These 
subterraneous structures were designed as the burying 
place of the kings, and (who can speak this without con- 
fusion and without deploring the blindness of man!) for 
keeping the sacred crocodiles, which a nation, so wise in 
other respects, worshipped as gods. 

In order to visit the rooms and halls of the labyrinth, 
it was necessary, as the reader will naturally suppose, 
for people to take the same precaution as Ariadne made 



294 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

Theseus use, when he was obliged to go and fight the 
Minotaur in the labyrinth of Crete. Virgil describes it 
in this manner: — 

And as the Cretan labyrinth of old, 

With wand'ring ways, and many a winding fold, 

Involved the weary way without redress, 

In a round error, wliich denied recess; 

Not far from thence he grav'd the wond'rous maze, 

A thousand doors, a thousand winding ways. 

These Pyramids are among the most stupendous 
works of man. They are the most ancient, too, having 
been built before any accounts were written; beyond 
the knowledge of history. Some regard them as ihe 
work of the children of Israel when in bondage in 
Egypt. Their purpose, too, is equally obscure: whether 
as sepulchres for their kings, or as places for worship 
at the top, a high place, as uas the custom with many 
nations; or as a cavern inside, which was the mode pre- 
ferred by others. Their shape and solidity render them 
very durable. Those who built them thought to render 
themselves famous to posterity, but we do not now even 
know their names. 

The village of Gizeh, near Cairo, has those most emi- 
nent. Four of these are placed near together; the- 
largest of which covers eleven acres of ground. Its 
height is 500 feet. The only room discovered in it is 
about the middle, thirty-four feet long and seventeen 
broad, which has nothing in it but a large stone chest, 
without a lid, large enough for the body of a man; but 
whether one was ever in it we cannot tell. 

The Pyramids were inseparably associated with the 
name of Egypt; they were formerly reckoned among the 
seven wonders of the world, and they are now justly- 
ranked among the most remarkable monuments which 
have ever been erected by the hand of man. It was 
generally supposed that there were only three Pyramids, 
this being the number at Gizeh, usually visited by tiav- 
ellers; but within fifty miles of that place were one hun- 
dred others, and it was supposed that upwards of two 
hundred of these singular burial places were scattered 
over Egypt and Nubia. We shall, however, confine 



THE ARTS AND SCIENCES. 295 

ourself to a description of the pyramids at Gizeh, and a 
description of one will serve for all the rest. 

When a person first visited the Pyramids, he was 
struck with the vastness of their size, and the wonderful 
perfection of their structure; although of great antiquity, 
they exhibit no signs of decay. The extraordinary dura- 
bility he conceived to arise from three causes, viz., ^ne 
solidity of their foundation, a solid rock — the peculiar i'y 
of their form, being best calculated for duration — ;;nd 
the dryness of the climate, there not being alternate e ma- 
sons of moisture and heat, which tended to produce nun- 
era] decomposition. The Pyramids were situated < ut- 
side the boundaries of Egypt proper, being about tl -ee 
miles from the spot where terminates the inundatior of 
the Nile. They were doubtless built there in c^nfornaUy 
with an Egyptian law, mentioned by Plutarch, prohii it- 
ing the burial of any person on a spot of land capable 
of giving sustenance to the living. Thus the Pyramids 
and Catacombs, those immense sepulchres above and 
below the surface of the earth, were built outside of the 
territories which were overflowed by the waters ot the 
Nile. 

Of the origin of the Pyramids nothing positively was 
known. Of all the monuments of ancient greatness, 
the origin of none is involved in so great obscurity. 
Tradition has only preserved the names of the kings by 
whom they were supposed to have been built. 'J hey 
contain neither within them nor about them any pictorial 
or hieroglyphic emblems — from which an inference is 
drawn that the Pyramids were erected before this kind 
of writing was discovered. All the other Egyptian mon- 
uments were covered with hieroglyphics. 

The size of the Pyramids was so great that it was 
almost impossible to conceive of their magnitude. Much 
discrepancy existed in the various estin)ates of their size 
made by travellers — they varying in their measurements 
from 564 to 800 feet. This discrepancy could be ac- 
counted for, from the fact that the Pyramids were expos- 
ed to the winds of the desert and were sometimes half 
buried in the sand. But when the wind blew in an oppo- 
site direction, the sand was carried away, and the Pyra- 
mids appeared in their proper dimensions. The state-- 



296 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

ments of Herodotus were probably to be relied on; he 
found the base of the Pyramid of Cheops to measure 
800 feet square— the perpendicular height 686 feet — 
and the slope from the outer part of the base to the top, 
720 feet. By these measurements their size might be 
estimated. A French savant who accompanied Bona- 
parte to Egypt, in 1800, had made an estimate, that if 
the solid contents of the Pyramid of Cheops were turned 
into a quarry, and cut up for building, it would furnish 
materials for constructing a wall around the whole 
kingdom of France, six feet high, and one foot thick! 
Mr. Lyell, the celebrated English geologist, has calcu- 
lated this Pyramid contained a mass of stone weighing 
six millions of tons! Now the shipping of the United 
States ainounted to 1,800,000 tons; but supposing it to 
amount to 2,000,000, it would require all the vessels of 
every description in America, to make three voyages to 
Egypt, before they could bring away all the materials of 
which the Pyramid of Cheops was built. One of the 
other Pyramids at Gizeh was equal to it in size; the 
third was somewhat smaller. The various Pyramids 
scattered through Egypt and Nubia might average about 
half their size. 

The base of the largest Pyramid covers 1 1 acres. 
The stones are above thirty feet in length, and the layers 
are 208; 360,000 men were employed in its erection. 

Catacombs. — The Catacombs of Egypt were vast ex- 
cavations in the solid rock, intended for the reception of 
the embalmed bodies of the people of Egypt. Those 
Catacombs were of various sizes, averaging half a fur- 
long in width and a furlong in length. It was the cus- 
tom when an individual died, to cause his body to be 
embalmed. It was then taken to the burial place and 
placed upon its feet. Rows of the dead were thus 
formed — some attention being paid to uniformity of size 
■ — and the whole surface of the Catacomb would be thus 
closely covered; insomuch that at this day some of these 
burial places appear to be paved with human skulls. 
Another layer of bodies was placed on top, and then 
another, until the excavation could contain no more. 
Some of these burial places contained 100,000 bodies, 
and probably none less than 10,000. It was estimated 



THE ARTS AND SCIENCES. 297 

that there were now upwards of two hundred millions of 
the embalmed bodies of the old Egyptians in the Catacombs 

SpHYiVX. — The great Sphynx of Egypt laid partly 
buried in sand at the base of the Pyramids, This em- 
blematic figure was common in Egypt; the sphynx being 
composed of the body of a lion and the bust of a virgin. 
The ancient Egyptians adored the Nile, and the learned 
men were consulted to design an emblem of this noble 
river — and as the inundation of the Nile took place when 
the sun was passing out of Leo into Virgo, the Sphynx 
was devised as emblematic of the inundation of the Nile. 
The size of the great Sphynx was enormous — it being 
160 feet in length on the back, and 30 ieet from the top 
of the forehead to the chin; its eye was a little cavern, 
and its under lip appeared like a spacious shelf, on 
which a person might lay at length. The feet, with the 
claws, projected 52, feet — and the whole length of the 
Sphynx was about 200 feet. In addition to its vast size, 
the scale of its proportions had been very much admired; 
but its face had been much mutilated by the Arabs, and 
consequently had lost all the beauty which, according to 
history, it originally possessed. 

Labyrinth.— The Egyptian Labyrinth was a wonder- 
ful work of art, which was thouu-ht to have been the 
model of the famous Labyrinth of Crete. It was com- 
posed, according to Herodotus, of twelve courts, all of 
which were covered; their entrances were opposite to 
each other, six to the north and six to the south. One 
wall enclosed the whole. The apartments were of two 
kinds — 1500 above the surface of the ground, and as 
many beneath — in all 3000. The ceilings and walls 
were all ol marble, the latter richly adorned with the 
finest sculpture; around each court were pillars of the 
whitest and most polished marble. At the point where 
the labyrinth terminates, stands a pyramid 160 cubits 
high, having large figures of animals engraved on its 
outside, and the entrance to it is by a subterraneous 
path. 

There was little doubt that for whatever purpose the 
Labyrinth was built, it was subsequently used for initiat- 
ing the Egyptian priest into the rites and mysteries and 
20 



298 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

impostures of their religion. Before any candidates 
were admitted to the priesthood, their resolution and for- 
titude were put to severe tests — as would be iuWy seen 
in "The Epicurean," a work by Thomas Moore, in 
which a detailed and accurate description was given 
of these initiations. [Mr. Buckingham's Lectures oii 

THE LAKE OF MCERIS. 
The noblest and most wonderful of all the struc- 
tures or works of the kings of Egypt, was the lake 
of Mceris: accordingly, Herodotus considers it as 
vastly superior to the pyramids and labyrinth. Ae 
Egypt was more nr less fruitful in proportion to the 
inundations of the Nile; and as in these floods the too 
general flow or ebb of the waters were equally iatal to 
the lands; king Moeris, to prevent these inconvenien- 
cies, and correct, as I'ar as lay in his power, the irregu- 
larities of the Nile, thought proper to call art to the as- 
sistance of nature; and so caused the lake to be dug, 
which afterwards went by his name. This lake was about 
three thousand six hundred stadia, that is, one hundred and 
eighty French leagues in circuit, and three hundred {eet 
deep. Two pyramids, on each of which stood a colossal 
statue, seated on a throne, raised their heads to the 
height of three hundred feet, in the midst of the lake, 
whilst their foundations took up the same space under 
the water; a proof that they were erected before the 
cavity was tilled, and a demonstration that a lake of such 
vast extent was the work of man's hands, in one prince's 
reign. This is what several historians have related con- 
cerning the lake Moeris, on the testimony of the inhab- 
itants of the country. And the Bishop of Meaux, in his 
discourse on Universal History, relates the whole as fact. 
With regard to myself, I will confess, that I do not see 
the least probability in it Is it possible to conceive, that 
a lake of an hundred and eighty leagues in circumfer- 
ence, could have been dug in the reign of one prince? 
In what manner, and where, could the earth taken from 
it be conveyed.'' What should prompt the Egyptians to 
lose the surface of so much land.? By what arts could* 
they fill this vast tract with the superfluous waters of the 



THE ARTS AND SCIENCES. 299 

Nile? Many other objections might be made. In my 
opinion, therefore, we ought to follow Pomponius Mela, an 
ancient geographer; especially as his account is conhrm- 
ed by several modern travellers. Accord'.ng to that au- 
thor, this lake is but twenty thousand paces, that is, seven 
or eight French leagues in circumference. Morris ali~ 
quando campus^ nunc lacus, viginti millia passuum iii cir- 
cuitu patens. 

This lake had a communication with the Nile, by a 
great canal, four leagues long, and fifty feet broad. — 
Great sluices either opened or shut the canal and lake, as 
there was occasion. 

I'he charge of opening or shutting them amounted to 
fifty talents, that is, fifty thousand French crowns. — 
The fishing of this lake brought the monarch immense 
sums; but its chief use related to the overflowing of the 
Nile. When it rose too high, and was like to be attended 
with fatal consequences, the sluices were opened; and 
the waters, having a free passage into the lake, covered 
the lands no longer than was necessary to enrich them. — 
On the contr.iry, when the inundation was too low, and 
threatened a famine, a sufficient quantity of water, by 
the help of drains, was let out of the lake, to water the 
lands. In this manner the irregularities of the Nile were 
corrected; and Strabo remarks, that, in his tirr.e, under 
Petronius,-a governor of Egypt, when the inundation of 
the Nile was twelve cubits, a great plenty ensued; and 
even when it rose but to eight cubits, the dearth wa.-? 
scarce felt in the country; doubtless, because the waters 
of the lake made up for those of the inundation, by the 
help of canals and drains. 

The lake Moeris — an immense reservoir, of artificial 
construction — which was designed and executed when 
the twelve kings reigned over the twelve several districts 
called Nomes. During a period of profound peace, a Con- 
gress was held, in which they deliberated on the means 
of erecting a public monument, which should not only 
redound to their own glory, but subserve the interests 
of the great body of the Egyptian people. For this 
purpose, they concluded to construct the Lake Moeris, 
to assist in irrigating the country, and to remedy the 
evils caused by the inequality in the inundations of the 



300 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

Nile. This lake was constructed on the Lybian side; 
and canals were cut to convey the waters to and from 
that great river, and by this means the soil could always 
be overflowed whenever the Nile did not rise as high as 
it was wont. This important work was planned with 
much care and calculation. To be of great service it 
was necessary that it should be of vast extent; and ac- 
cordingly it was the most stupendous work ever underta- 
ken by the hand of mat) — being, according to Diodorus 
Siculus, 420 miles in circumference — according to Stra- 
bo, 450 — and according to Herodotus, 500! It was situ- 
ated about 350 miles from the sea, and 10 miles from the 
banks of the Nile — being nearly in the centre of 
Egypt. 

In order to convey to posterity the fact that this im- 
mense lake was constructed by the hand of man, two 
pyramids were erected within it, each of 400 cubits in 
height, one half of each being submerged in the water, 
and the other half rising above the surface. As these 
pyramids must have been built before the waters were 
let into the lake, they afford conclusive proof that it was 
of artificial construction. It was calculated that the fer- 
tility of Egypt was increased one-fourth by means of this 
wonderful artificial lake, and thus amply repaid the ex- 
penses of its construction. 

It was supposed that the vast quantity of soil which 
must have been removed in order to form the lake, was 
used to construct the banks of the lake and the embank- 
ments of the canals, and the remainder was conveyed to 
the Nile, and swept away by the currents towards the 
ocean, and probably assisted in formingj the Delta. The 
Lake is now diminished in size, being only about 150 
miles in circumference, and is gradually diminishing. 

Near to the shore of Lake Moeris stood a pyramid, 
built of brick, on which was an inscription implying that 
it was constructed of the earth taken from the lake. It 
was in a very dilapidated state, and the pyramids in the 
centre of the lake were nearly destroyed by the combined 
action of the water and air. 

Mr. Buckingham described a light house which stood 
in " olden time" on the river of the Nile. 



THE ARTS AND SCIENCES. 301 

TEMPLES OF EGYPT. 

All the Egyptian temples have two massive towers in 
front — standing as it were an advanced guard — built in 
the form of a semi-pyramid, and supporting an immense 
gateway. The famous temple of Tentyra, of exceeding 
beauty, was dedicated to Isis. Its architecture was 
peculiar, the massive capitals having on each side a face 
of Isis. This temple was not large, compared wiih many 
of the temples in Egypt, but was about double the size of 
the largest cathedrals in England, being 400 feet 
long, 200 broad, and 60 or 70 high. Its portico was 
very remarkable, it being carved with hieroglyphics and 
figures of the Egyptian deities, and bearing on the sur- 
face of one of the pillars a representation of the zodiac 
and the celestial hemisphere. This was regarded with 
much interest by the French savans, who thought that a 
clue could thus be obtained to the Egyptian records of 
the age of the world. It was copied, and sent to various 
scientific societies. But the learned expositors of this 
zodiac, interpreted the hieroglyphics differently, in order 
to support the particular theory of each individual, and 
hence this curious zodiac threw no light on the age of 
the world. This zodiac has since been removed, and is 
now in the Louvre at Paris. 

The Egyptian Temple of Hermopolis, the body of 
which was in ruins, but the portico remains entire, 
strikes the stranger not only with admiration, but with 
awe. The massiveness of the pillars, the high and over- 
hanging cornice, the mysterious hieroglyphics, all com- 
bine to produce a feeling of intense veneration and sub- 
limity. 

The Temple of Apollinopolis is on the bank of the 
Nile, and is remarkable for its great size. It has two mas- 
sive towers in front — standinof as it were an advanced 
guard — built in the form of a semi-pyramid, and support- 
inpj an immense gateway. On the summit of the gateway 
which connects the two towers of the temple of Apollinop- 
olis they were constructed. — a very elevated spot. The 
temple of Apollinopolis is 2,000 feet long — 500 feet 
broad, and the walls are covered on every part with the 
most perfect specimens of sculpture. The pillars of the 



302 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

portico are each as large as Pompey's Pillar — ten and a 
half feet in diameter — and no two are exactly alike — a 
favorite mode of building with the Egyptians. In this 
temple are eeen representations of the views which the 
Egyptians entertained of a future state; as the passage of 
the souls across the dark river — some of wliom are seen 
ascending the steps leading to the higher regions — and 
severid superior beings are holding in their hands tablets, 
and noiino down the good and bad actions of those who 
seek to pass, that they may be brought forward at the final 
judgment. In the neighborhood are a number of sepul- 
chres, on the whIIs of which are representations of human 
sacrifices — rites which some suppose have never been per- 
formed by any nation. 

THE EXPLANATION OF FIVE GRAND VIRTUES. 

TiiuTM. — Truth is a divine attribute, and the foundation 
of every virtue. To be good and true, is the first lesson 
we are taught in Scripture. On this theme we contem- 
plate, and by its dictates endeavor to regulate our conduct: 
hence, while influenced by this principle, hypocrisy and 
deceit are unknown among us; sincerity and plain dealing 
distinguish us ; and the heart and tongue join in promoting 
each other's welfare, and lejoicing in each other's prosperity. 

.TtisTicK. — Justice is that standard, or boundary of right, 
which enables us to render to every man his just due, with- 
out distinction. This virtue is not only considered with 
divine and human laws, but is the very cement and support 
of civil society ; and as justice in a great measure consti- 
tutes the real good of man, so should it be the invariable 
practice of every friend, never to deviate from the minutest 
principles thereof ***** 

TEMPERANCE. — Temperance is that due restraint upon 
our affections and passions, which renders the body tame 
and governable, and frees the mind from the allurements of 
vice. This virtue should be the constant practice of every 
man; as he is thereby taught to avoid excess, or contract- 
ing any licentious or vicious habit, the indulgence of which 
miufht lead him to ruin. 



THE ARTS AND SCIENCES. 303 

Prudence. — Prudence teaches us to regulate our lives 
and actions agreeabl}' to the dictates of reason, and is that 
habit by vvliich we wisely judcre, and prudentially deter- 
mine on all things relative to our present as well as to our 
future happiness. This virtue should be the peculiar char- 
acteristic of every man. 

Fortitude. — -Fortitude is that noble and steady purpose 
of the mind, whereby we are enabled to undergo any pain, 
peril or danger, when prudentially deemed expedient. 
Tins virtue is equally distant from rashness and cowardice; 
and, like the former, thould be deeply impressed upon the 
mind of every man, as a safe guard or security against any 
illegal attack that may be made, by force or otherwise, to 
extort froiti him any of those valuable secrets with which 
he has been so solemnly intrusted. 

THE GRECIAN PHILOSOPHERS. 

Plato, an Ethiopian, was an ennnent Grecian philoso- 
pber, called the Divine. 

Socrates, a Grecian philosopher — the best of the wise 
men, 

Thales, of Miletus, travelled into Egypt — acquired the 
knowledge of geometry and philosophy, and returned to 
Greece. 

THE ROMAN PHILOSOPHERS, 

BoETHius, a Roman platonic philosopher. 

Elpictetus a stoic philosopher, who was once a slave 
to Epaphroditus, an officer of the Emperor Nero's 
Guards. 

Seneca, Nero's tutor, the celebrated Roman stoic 
philosopher. He was put to death by Nero. 



304 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 



CHAPTER IX. 



:ODEM EMINENT COLORED MEW. 



moderlv eminent colored men. 

The distinguished colored president of the South Amer- 
ican states, General Guerrero, late president of Mexico, 
v/as a colored man ; so is General Alvarez, one of the most 
distinguished of the Mexican generals, and some of the 
most prominent men of the Mexican Congress are mulat- 
tos. General Paez, the distinguished president of Vene- 
zuela, is also a colored man. General Piar, who bore a 
conspicuous part in the commencement of the Columbian 
revolution, was a mulatto. General Sucre, the command- 
er-in-chief at the battle of Ayacucho, in 1824, the most 
remarkable ever fought in South America, was a black 
man. In 1826 he was elected president of Bolivia. 

Colored lawyers and physicians are found in all parts of 
Europe, and some of the highest offices in the state are 
filled by black men. 

Alex. Dumas, a black man, was one of the most literary 
characters of the West India Islands, and a general of ar- 
tillery. General Dumas for a long time commanded a le- 
gion in the French army, and was one of Bonaparte's fa- 
vorite generals of division, and named by him the " Horatius 
Codes of the Tyrols." His son, a mulatto, is deemed 
second only in literature to Victor Hugo, and it is said he 
has received the distinguished honor of being elected a 
member of the French Institute. 

Geoffroy L'lslet, a mulatto, originally an officer of ar- 
tillery in the French army, was elected a corresponding 
member of the Academy of Sciences at Paris, and was liv- 
ing a few years since. 



MODERN EMINENT COLORED MEN. 305 

Scipio Africanus, an African, in his boyhood, was one 
of the playmates of Louis Phillipj)e, the present king of the 
French, and was one of the family of tlie Duke of Or- 
leans, [Egalite.] Scipio afterwards became an officer in 
the French army, under Joubert, and was killed \tith that 
officer at the battle of Novi, in 1779. 

Pellet, a highly respected and popular officer in the Na- 
tional Guards of France, is a dark mulatto. 

The celebrated Kina, a black, was a favorite officer in 
the British army, and who, on a visit to London, received 
the most flatterinor attentions in honor of his services in 
the West Lidies. 

Annibal, an African, was a general and director of ar- 
tillery in the army of Peter the Great, who conferred upon 
him, as a mark of honor, the order of Saint Alexander 
Neuski, His son, a mulatto, was, in 1784, a lieutenant 
general of artillery in the Russian service. 

it is a fact well known, that some of the highest officers 
in the Turkish and Persian empires have been filled by 
blacks and mulattos. 

Some of the most distinguished officers in the Brazilian 
army are blacks and mulattos. 

" Prejudice against color " has never existed in Great 
Britain, France, Spain, Portugal, the Italian States, Prus- 
sia, Austria, Russia, or in any part of the world where 
colored persons have not been held as slaves. Indeed, in 
many countries, where multitudes of Africans and their 
descendants have been long held slaves, no prejudice against 
color has ever existed. This is the case in Turkey, Bra- 
zil, and Persia. In Brazil there are more than two mil- 
lions of slaves. Yet some of the highest offices of state 
are filled by the black men. Some of the most distin- 
guished officers in the Brazilian army are blacks and mu- 
lattos. 

There are distinguished lawyers, professors, physicians, 
&c., [blacks and mulattos,] in Lisbon and other parts of 
Portugal, in France and England, in the West Indies, and 
in all parts of the civilized world, except the United States 
and Texas. 

The celebrated M. Pay, a mulatto, was one of the most 
popular lawyers at the royal court of Martinique. 

The celebrated Mentor, a black, a native of Martinique, 



306 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

was one of the members of the French national assembly 
between forty and fifty years since. 

The distinguished Price VVatkis, a mulatto, recently de- 
ceased, for the last ten years of his life was at the head of 
the Jamaica bar, and for a long time a distinguished mem- 
ber of the assembly. 

Mr. Osborn, a mulatto, was elected to the assembly by 
the parish of St. Andrews. Mr. Osborn was, a few years 
since appointed, by the Governor, a magistrate of the parish 
in which he resided, and a judge of the court room of 
commoiV pleas. 

Richard Hill, a dark niulatto, has been for a number of 
years at the head of the special magistracy in Jamaica, a body 
of about sixty magistrates, and their official organ of conmiu- 
nication with the government. When Lord Sligo was 
governor of Jamaica, Mr. Hill was his official Secretary, 
and an inmate of his family His lordship, when in New 
York in the summer of 1839, on his return to England, 
speaking of Mr. Hill, said, *' with no gentleman in the 
West Indies was I, in social life, on terms of more inti- 
mate friendship." 

The distinguished A. De Castro, a mulatto, was aid-de- 
camp to the governor getierai of the Danish West Indies, 
and, also, his son is aid-de-camp to the governor of St. 
Thomas. 

The secretary of the governor of Antigua, in 1837, was 
a mulatto; so is a Mr A thill, who was at the same time! 
postmaster-general of Antigua, and a member of assembly. I 

The celebrated Gustavus Vasa, a black, was born at 
Benin. He resided many years in London, where he min- 
gled with refined society, and was highly respected. His 
son, Sancho, was assistant librarian to Sir Joseph Banks, , 
and secretary to the Vaccine Institution. I 

The celebrated George Washington Jelferson, a mulat- 
to from St. Domingo, who resides near Brighton, England, 
associates with the most respectable society, and is a di- 
rector in a bank there. 

Edward Jordan, a mulatto, has been for many years ed- 
itor of the ablest and m.ost influential paper published in 
Jamaica. Mr. J. has also been^ for son)e years, a leading 
member of the Jamaica assembly, and alderman of the city 
of Kingston. 



MODERN EMINENT COLORED MEN. ^307 

The celebrated Prince Sanders was a dark mulatto. 
He was a native of Boston, but resided many years in Lon- 
don, where he was a great favorite in fashionable circles — 
was invited to breakfast with the Prince Regent, and received 
flattering attentions from distinguished literary characters. 
Hundreds of the Roman Catholic clergy are black and 
colored men. These ministers to congregations are made 
up indiscriminately of blacks and whites. For a century 
past, a considerable portion of the Roman Catholic clergy 
in the Cape de Verd Islands have been blacks. 

The distinguished Capitein, a black, a native of Guinea, 
was graduated with grest applause at the University of Ley- 
den, in Holland, and afterwards became a clergyman. 

The distinguished Girard, a young man of color from 
Gaudaloupe, who received, amongst other prizes, the prize 
of honor. Villemain, the minister of public instruction, 
placed tho crown or wreath on Girard's head, embraced 
him, and delivered to him his prizes amidst the unanimous 
applauses of the collegians and spectators. Girard was 
then invited to dine with the king, and he spent three days 
with the royal family at St. Cloud. 

The celebrated Thomas Jenkins, a black, a native of 
Guinea, was, for a number of years, a teaclier of a parish 
school near Edinburgh, in Scotland; he afterwards en- 
tered the university, where he distinguished himself for 
I scholarship. He was so great a flivorite with the faculty, 
i that the professors generally relinquished their fees to as- 
sist him in his education. He eventually became a preach- 
er, and was deputed, by the British Society, for promoting 
' Christian knowledge as a missionary to iVlauritius, where 
he still resides. 

The celebrated Ignatius Sancho was a black — the as- 
sociate of Garrick, and the friend and correspondent of 
: Sterne. 

The celebrated Correa de Serra was a black, and the 
: Secretary of the Portuguese academy. 

A Self-Taught Man. — At a meeting of the Synod of 
Alabama, on the third week in January, 1840, contribu- 
tions were called for to purchase a colored man, [a slave,] 
rof extraordinary character. It was stated that he was a 
!good classical scholar, and wholly self-taught. He is a 
iblacksmith; and it was stated on the floor of the Synod, 



308 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

by members and others, who knew him, that he first 
learned the letters of the alphabet, by inducing his master'g 
children and others, to make the letters, one at a time, on 
the door of his shop. In this way he familiarized himself 
with the letters and their names. He then learned to put 
them together and make words, and soon he was able to 
read. He then commenced the study of arithmetic, and 
then English grammar and geography. It was also stated 
that he is now able to read the Greek Testament with ease 
— has some knowledge of the Latin Language, and even 
commenced the study of the Hebrew language, but relin- 
quished it in consequence of not having suitable books. It 
was stated that he studied nights till 11 or 12 o'clock, and 
that in conversing with him, they felt themselves in the 
presence of their equal. He is between 30 and 35 years 
of age, and is willing to go out as a missionary to Africa, 
under the Assembly's Board. [Newburyport Herald.] 



THE GREAT HISTORICAL AGES. 309 



CHAPTER X, 



THE GREAT HISTORICAL AGES. 



THE ANCIENT AND MODERN DISTINGUISHED HIS- 
TORIANS AND WRITERS, THE DESCENDANTS OF 
AhRICA AND ASIA. 

Every age has produced heroes and politicians; all 
nations have experienced revolutions; and all histories 
are nearly alike, to those who seek only to furnish their 
memories with facts; but whoever thinks, or, what is 
still rare, whoever has taste, will find but three ages in 
the history of the world. These three happy asjes are 
those in which the arts were carried to perfection; and 
which, by serving as the era of the greatness of the 
human mind, are examples for posterity. 

The first of these ages to which true glory is annexed, 
is that of Philip and Alexander, or that of a Pericles, a 
Demosthenes, an Aristotle, a Plato, an Apelles, a Phi- 
dias, and a Praxiteles, &c. 

The second age is that of Ca3sar and Augustus, dis- 
tinguished likewise by the names of Lucretius, Cicero, 
Titus, Livius, Virgil, Horace, Ovid, Varro, Vitruvius, 
&c. 

The third is that which followed the taking of Con- 
stantinople by Mahomet II., a Moor. 

ANCIENT HISTORIANS. 

The Old Testament was written in Africa, and Coelo 
Syria in the land of Moab, and translated into the Greek 
tongue, from the Hebrew, by the Egyptian and Jerusa- 
lem Jews, by order of Ptolemy Philadelphus, an Ethio- 
pian, king of Egypt. 



310 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

The Greek translation of the Old Testament was first 
began, at least, in Egypt; thence it found its way into 
Ethiopia. Greek was understood by superior persons 
there, and from this translation it is highly probable that, 
without any other teacher, the Ethiopians obtained the 
knowledge of the true God, and thus became first prose- 
lyted to Judaism, and then converted to Christianity. 

Next to the historical books of the Old Testament, 
the most ancient history worthy of perusal is that of 
Herodotus, the father of profane history, which is in nine 
books. In the second book of his History of Egypt, 
and the manners of the Egyptians, he states that the 
Egyptians were black, and their hair frizzly, &c. He- 
rodotus has been translated by Beloe, in four volumes. 

Livy, the prince of Roman historians, wrote a work 
of 132 books. Many of these are lost; those which are 
extant have been translated by Baker. In this work are 
found the lives of Hannibal, Scipio Africanus, Flamin- 
ius, Paulus^EmiliuSjthe elder Cato, the Gracchi, Marius, 
Scylla, the younger Cato, Sertorius, Lucullus^, Julius 
Caesar, Cicero, Pompey and Brutus, Ethiopians or 
Africans. 

Plutarch; translated by Langhorne. 

Polybius wrote a general history of the Greeks and 
Romans, in forty books; translated by Hampton. 

The works of Appian originally consisted of twenty 
books of the history of Rome from the earliest period. 

Sallust, the first philosophical Roman historian. This 
work has been translated into English by Murphy, by 
Stuart, and by Rose. 

Xenophon's History of Greece, translated by Smith. 

The History of Arrian, translated by Rook. 

Thucydides, an eminent Greek historian; translated 
by Smith. 

Dionysius Halicarnassus wrote a history of Rome: 
translated by Spelman. 

Ephorus and Temaeus. 

Tacitus; translated by Murphy. 

Cornelius Nepos and Appianus Alexander. 

The celebrated Justin, an African, wrote his first 
apology for the Christians about 136 years after Christ. 
His history is translated by Turnbuli. 



THE GREAT HISTORICAL AGES. 311 

Eusebius, the father of Ecclesiastical History, was 
born ia Csesarea, of Palestine, the inhabitants of which 
were descendants of Ham, 

Pausanias, Aristoteles, Isocrates, Diogenes Laertius, 
Athenseus. 

Procopius, a Roman historian, and last of the classical 
writers. 

Strabo, an Ethiopian, a celebrated historian. His 
Ancient Geography was written in Greek. We hope 
this work will be translated into English. 

Eratosthenes, an African poet of Gyrene, 

Josephus, a Jewish historian, wrote his book in Greek. 
It has been translated into English 

Euclid, an Ethiopian, a Greek writer in Geometry. 
Three hundred years before Christ, he was at the head 
of the most celebrated mathematical school in the world. 

Archimedes, a celebrated disciple of Euciid. 

Julius Csesar, an African. 

Plato, an Ethiopian, a wise and learned Grecian 
writer. 

Proclus, a learned Platonist. 

Origen and Cyprian, learned Christian writers. 

Photius, a learned Christian writer and philosopher. 

Lactantius, an elegant writer, and an able defender of 
Christianity. 

ANCIENT POETS. 

The first kind of poetry that was among the Romans 
was the verses made by Numa, a prince of Rome, which 
the Salian priests sung in his time. Pythagoras, either 
in the same reign, or, if you please, some time after, 
gave the Romans a tincture of poetry as well as philoso- 
phy ; for Cicero assures us that the Pythagorians made 
great use of poetry and music. 

Callimachus, an African poet of Cyrene. 

Orpheus, Musseus, and Linus, were before Homer's 
time. 

Homer, an Ethiopian, the greatest of the Grecian 
poets; a historian likewise. 

Anacreon, a Greek poet, and father of the Anacreontic 
verse. 



312 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

Pindar, the chief of the Grecian^yric poets. 

Lucilius, an early Roman poet. 

Lucretius, a Roman didactic poet. 

Virgil, the prince of Roman poets. 

Horace, the greatest of the Roman lyric poets. 

Boethius, also distinguished in other departments of 
literature. 

Claudian, an elegant Latin poet. 

iMeman, a lyric poet. 

^schylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, distinguished 
Athenian poets. 

David, Solomon, Asaph, and the Hebrew prophets, 
were poets unequalled by any others, of whatever name 
or naticm. The blacks were the ancient poets and 
learned historians. 

We recommend our colored and Indian brethren to 
procure the true copies, translated from the Hebrew, 
Greek and Latin, by our friends, the unprejudiced 
French, Spanish and English historians. 

The celebrated Homer was an Ethiopian, the greatest 
of the Grecian poets, and a historian. He travelled into 
Egypt, from whence he brought into Greece the names 
of their gods, and the chief ceremonials of their wor- 
ship, &.C. Homer divided the Ethiopians into two parts, 
and Strabo maintains that the division line to which he 
alluded was the Red Sea. Homer's poems were intro- 
duced into Greece about 886 years before Christ, He 
was among the first and probably the most eminent 
of all the writers of heathen antiquity. The literary 
world down to this day have bowed to his authority, and 
owned the force of his genius. His poems have been 
taken as the model of all similar poems, written since 
his day. It had a powerful influence over the Grecian 
mind, inspiring them to many of their noblest actions. 

Smyrna, a celebrated city of Ionia, built by the Ama- 
zonians, the descendants of Ham, was famous as early 
as the, time of Homer, whose birthplace it claims to be. 
Then Smyrna was in all its glory, abounding in all the 
works of art and learning. 

Hanno, the father of Hamilcar, was an African writer 
and a seneral. There is still extant a Greek version of 
a treatise drawn up by Hanno in the Punic tongue, 



THE GREAT HISTORICAL AGES. 313 

relating to a voyage he made by order of the Cartha- 
ginian Senate, with a considerable fleet, round Africa, 
for the settling of different colonies in that part of the 
world. 

Hamilcar, an African writer and a General of Car- 
thage, was a man of profound wisdom and knowledge, 
who honored his native country as much by his pen as 
with his sword. His fleet consisted of two thousand 
ships of war, and upwards of three thousand small ves- 
sels of burden, and his land forces amounted to three 
hundred thousand men. 

The celebrated Hannibal, the son of Hamilcar, was 
an African writer and a great general of Carthage. He 
in all respects was an ornament to that city, for he was 
well acquainted with polite literature, and director of 
artillery. He led the Carthaginians across the Alps, and 
in the heart of Italy displayed a military bravery and 
skill, unsurpassed by the most distinguished Roman 
commanders. 

The celebrated Mago, supposed to have been Hanni- 
bal's brother, was a distinguished African writer and a 
general of Carthage. He did as much honor to the city 
with his pen as by his victories. He wrote twenty-eight 
volumes upon husbandry, in the Punic language. These 
volumes were so highly esteemed by the Romans, that 
the Roman Senate ordered them to be translated into the 
Greek, by Cassius Dionysius, of Utica, a city in Africa, 
from whose version we may suppose the Latin was made. 
These volumes were found in the libraries of Africa, 
when Carthage was taken by the Romans. 

Clitomachus, an African, called in the Punic language 
Asdrubal, the brother of Hannibal. He was a great 
philosopher, and a commander of the Carthaginian 
army. He succeeded the distinguished Carneades, 
whose disciple he had been, and maintained in Athens 
the honor of the Academic sect. 

The famous Tertullian flourished at Carthage in the 
second and third century. He was the first Latin writer 
of the Church of Christ whose works have come down 
to us. Among his writings was an admirable apology 
for the Christian religion. He wrote many books in 
Latin. 

21 



314 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

Terence, an African, a native of Carthage, was the 
most elegant and refined of all the dramatic writers who 
appeared on the Roman stage. 

The celebrated Cicero, an African, wrote several val- 
uable books, viz., Clitomachus, Homo, Acutus diligens, 
Ut Poenus, aYid Valde Studiosus. In one of which he 
composed a piece to console the unhappy citizens of 
Carthage, who by the ruin of their city were reduced 
to slavery under the Romans. 

The celebrated elder Cato, an African. Cicero, Quin- 
tilian and Pliny celebrated the writings of the elder Cato, 
whose principal works were historical. We have his Frag- 
ment [De Re Rustica] on Agriculture, in which he was 
imitated by Varro, one of the earliest of the good writers 
among the Romans, and a man of universal erudition of 
the variety of his talents. We may judge not only from 
the splendid eulogium of Cicero, but from the circumstance 
of Pliny's having recourse to his authority, in every book 
of his natural history. 

The celebrated Phaedrus, an African, wrote fables 
in Iambic verse. He flourished, and formed his style of 
writing under Augustus; and his book, though it did not 
appear till the reign of Tiberius, deserves, on all accounts, 
to be reckoned among' the works of the Augustan age, 
Fabulse ^Esopese was probably the title which he gave his 
fables. 

Afranius. We have a very great loss in the works of 
Afranius, for he was regarded, even in the Augustan age, 
as the most exact imitator of Menander. He owns, him- 
self, that he had no restraint in' copying him; or any other 
of the Greek comic writers. 

St. Cyprian, an African writer. The powers of genius 
and arts of eloquence were introduced by him alone of the 
learned among the Pagan writers. He was capable of 
pleasing their taste. 

The celebrated Origen, an African. The history writ- 
ten by this learned father, is still extant: viz.. The Philo- 
calia of Origen, consisting of scriptural questions and Ori- 
gen's Comments. 

The celebrated Eusebius of Caesarea, in Phcenicia. 
He was one of the most learned of all Christian historians. 
He was in Africa, Egypt, Thebais, Palestine, Phoenicia, 



THE GREAT HISTORICAL AGES. 315 

&,c., when martyrs were put to death. Many of the mod- 
ern historians refer to him. 

Plautus. He was the first that consulted his own genius, 
and confined himself to that species of dramatic writing, 
for which he was the best fitted by nature. 

The celebrated St. Augustine, an African, was born in 
the city of Tagasta, in Algiers, [the ancient Numidia.] 
His father's name was Patricius, a pagan, and continued 
till near his death. Manica, his mother, was renowned 
for her Christian piety. St. Augustine wrote several valu- 
able histories, some of them related to the Donatists, and 
the narrative of Passidonius, &c. 



A short View of Augustine's City of God. 

This great and extensive work is in itself so remarkable 
a monument of genius, learning, and piety united, and de- 
serves so well both of the classical scholar and the theolo- 
gian, that the reader will either expect some account of it, 
or at least excuse me if I attempt it. Ecclesiastical anti- 
quity has been too much depreciated in our times, aiid stu- 
dents in divinity have been discouraged from the study of 
the fathers. In truth, a selection of them ought to be 
made ; to praise or dispraise the primitive writers, in gene- 
ral, is obviously absurd. But Augustine's City of God de- 
serves an unqualified commendation. The young student 
who shall meditate upon it with deep attention, will find it 
richly to repay his labor, and the following review of its 
plan and contents may teach him what he is to expect 
from it. 

The capture of Pt^ome by Alaric the Goth, and the sub- 
sequent plunder and miseries of the imperial city, had 
opened the mouths of the Pagans, and the true God was 
blasphemed on the account. Christianity was looked on 
as the cause of the declension of the empire ; and however 
trifling such an argument may appear at this day, at that 
time it had so great a weight, that it gave occasion to Au- 
gustine, in his zeal for the house of God, to write this 
treatise. 

The work itself consists of twenty-two books. The 
first states the objections made by the pagans, and answers 
them in form. It was a remarkable fact, that all who fled. 



316 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

to the church called the Basilicse of the Apostles, whether 
Christians or not, were preserved from military fury. The 
author takes notice of this singular circumstance, as a 
proof of the great authority of the name and doctrine of 
Christ, even among pagans, and shows that no instance 
can be found in their history, where many vanquished peo- 
ple were spared out of respect to their religious wor- 
ship. He justly observes, therefore, that the evils accom- 
panying the late disaster ought to be ascribed to the usual 
events of war, the benefits to the power of the name of 
Christ. His thoughts on the promiscuous distribution of 
good and evil in this life are uncommonly excellent. " If 
all sin, he observes, were now punished, nothing might 
seem to be reserved to the last judgment. If the Divinity 
punished no sin openly, now his providence might be de- 
nied. In like manner in prosperous things, if some peti- 
tions for temporal things were not abundantly answered, 
it might be said that they were not at God's disposal. If 
all petitions were granted, it might be thought that we 
should serve God only for the sake of worldly things." 
And in a number of elegant allusions he goes on to show 
the benefit of afflictions to the righteous, and the curse 
which accompanies them to the wicked.* He mentions 
also the propriety of punishing the godly often in this life, 
because they are not sufficiently weaned from the world, 
and because they do not rebuke the sins of the world as 
they ought, but conform too much to the taste of ungodly 
men. He answers the objections drawn from their suffer- 
in ojs in the late disaster. " Many Christians, say they, are 
led captive. It would be very miserable, he owns, if they 
could be led to any place where they could not find their 
God." In the same book he excellently handles the sub- 
ject of suicide, demonstrates its cowardice, and exposes 
the pusillanimity of Cato. He mentions the prayer of 
Paulinus, bishop of Nola, who had reduced himself to 
poverty for the sake of Christ, when the barbarians laid 
waste his city : " Lord, suffer me not to be tormented on 
account of gold and silver ; for, where all my wealth is, 

^Pari motu exagitatum and exhalat horribiliter ccenum, et suaviter fra- 
s;rat unguentum. &-C. It is a just recommendation ot this treatise, that its 
Latinity is of a superior taste to that of his other works, which were writ- 
ten to the populace 5 this was meant for the perusal of philosophers. 



THE GREAT HISTORICAL AGES. 317 

thou knovvest." For there he had his all, where the Lord 
hath directed us to lay up our treasure, and he strongly in- 
sists, as the fullest answer to objections, that the saint loses 
nothing by all his afflictions. 

Havinof sufficiently spoken to the particular occasion, he 
proceeds in the second book, to wage offensive war with 
the pagans, and shows, that while their religion prevailed, 
it never promoted the real benefit of men. In this book 
he proves his point with respect to moral evils. Immoral 
practices were not discouraged or prohibited in the least 
by the popular idolatry, but, on the contrary, vice and fla- 
gitiousness were encouraged. He triumphs in the peculi- 
ar excellence of Christian institutes, because, by them in- 
struction was constantly diffused among the body of the 
people, of which the whole system of pagan worship was 
void. His observations on stage-plays,* and on the vicious 
manners of the Romans, even in the best times of their 
republic, as confessed by Sallust, or, at least deduced by 
fair inference from his writings, are extremely worthy of 
attention, nor have I seen a more just estimate any where 
of Roman virtue, than is to be found in this and some fol- 
lowing books. The classical reader will do well to at- 
tend to his remarks, after he has made himself master of 
the historical facts. And, it is only one instance among 
many of the unhappy propensity of the age to infidelity, 
that the specious sophisms of Montesquieu, concerning the 
virtue of the Roman republic, are so much sought after, 
and held in such veneration, while the solid arguments of 
Augustine are scarce known among us He eloquently 
describes what sort of felicity a carnal heart would desire, 
and in the description, shows the unreasonableness of its 
wishes. In the same book will be found some valuable re- 
mains of Cicero de Republica, a most profound and inge- 
nious treatise, of which a few fragments are preserved by 
Augustine, and which are introduced by him, to show, 
that, by Cicero's confession, the Roman state was com- 
pletely ruined before the times of Christianity, The book 
concludes with a pathetic exhortation to unbelievers. 

In the third book he demonstrates that the Pagans had 
oo more help from their religon against natural evils than 

*■ By Roman laws, players could not be admitted into Roman citizenship. 



318 LIGHT AND TRUTH. ' 

they had against moral. He recounts the numberless 
miseries endured by the Romans long before the coming 
of Christ. Such as would by malice have been imputed 
to the Christian religion had it then existed, some of 
which were more calamitous than any thing which they 
had lately sustained from the Goths. 

In the fourth book he demonstrates that the Roman 
felicity, such as it was, was not caused by their religion. 
Here he weighs the nature of that glory and extent of 
empire with which the carnal heart is so much captiva- 
ted, and demonstrates, in the most solid manner, that a 
large extended empire is no more an evidence of felicity 
than immense property is in private life; and whoever 
has been fascinated by political writers, ancient or mod- 
ern, into an admiration of this false glory, may see it 
excellently combatted by the reasonings of Augustine. 
The Pantiieistic philosophy, of which the old sages are 
full, is ridiculed, and the futility of all the popular reli- 
gions exposed. In the conclusion he gives a short view 
of the dispensations of Providence toward the Jews, and 
shews, while they continued obedient, the superiority of 
their felicity to that of the Romans. 

In the fifth book he describes the virtue of the old 
Romans, and what reward was given to it here on earth 
— shadowy reward for shadowy virtue. He gives an 
excellent account of the vice of vain glory, and contrasts 
it with the humility of Christians. He demonstrates that 
it was the true God who dispensed his mercies and judg- 
ments toward the Romans. Nor have I seen a more 
striking view of the emptiness of warlike grandeur, than 
in the account which he gives of the condition of the vic- 
tors and the vanquished, and in the demonstration that 
the latter were no way inferior to the former in point of 
real happiness, except in the crisis of battle. 

In the same book he argues against Cicero, and 
shews the consistency of the prescience of God with the 
free agency of man, and, in this and some other parts of 
his works, the discerning reader may see some traces of 
that ingenious work, namely, Jonathan Edwards' Inquiry 
on Free-Will He takes notice of the total defeat sus- 
tained by Rhadagasus, the barbarous pagan in Italy, 
and reminds the Gentiles how insultingly they had de- 



THE GREAT HISTORICAL AGES. 319 

clared beforehand, that he would certainly be victorious. 
His observations on the ill success of the pious Emperor 
Gratian, and the prosperity of Constantine and Theodo- 
sius, deserve also our attention. 

Having shewn, in the five first books, that paganism 
could do nothing for men in temporal things, in the five 
following books he proves that it was as totally insignifi- 
cant with respect to the next life. Here we meet with 
some valuable fragments of the very learned Varro, who 
divides religion into three kinds, the fabulous, the philo- 
sophical, and the political. Here, too, we have a clear 
and historical detail of the opinions of the ancient phi- 
losophers. 

Of the remaining books, the four first describe the 
beginning, the four middle the progress, and the four 
last the issues of the two states, namely, the City ofGod 
and the world ; the history of both, and the different 
genius and spirit of each, are throughout conceived with 
great energy by the author, and are illustrated with co- 
piousness and perspicuity. 

The eleventh book begins with a just and solid view 
of the knowledge of God by the Mediator, and the au- 
thority of the Scriptures. A number of questions, which 
respect the beginnings of things, rather curious than 
important, follow. Among these there is, in the twelfth 
chapter, an occasional comparison of the felicity of the 
just in this life with that of Adam before his fall, which 
deserves a better character. His metaphysics concern- 
ing the origin of evil are interspersed. But the greater 
part of the book may be omitted with little loss to the 
reader. Yet his censure of Origen in the twenty-third 
chapter deserves attention. 

In the twelfth book the question concerning the origin 
of evil is still more explicitly stated; and the opinions of 
those who pretend to account for the origin of the world 
in a manner different from the Scriptures, and to give it 
an antiquity much superior to that which is assigned to 
it in them, are refuted. 

The thirteenth book describes the fall of man; but 
questions of little or no moment are interspersed ; and 
the subtilty of the learning of his times meeting with his 
argumentative mind leads him here, as in various other 



320 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

parts of his writings, into trifling disquisitions. I do not 
reckon of this sort, however, his account of the differ- 
ence between an animal and spiritual body, because it 
throws some good light on the fifteenth chapter of the 
First Epistle to the Corinthians. 

The fourteenth book contains matter more interesting 
than the foregoing three, though it is not without unim- 
portant speculations. A just idea of the magnitude of 
the first sin is given, and the justice of God is excellently 
vindicated. In the close of this book he contrasts the 
two states in a very graphical manner. " Two sets of 
affections have produced two states: self-love produced 
an earthly one to the contempt of God; the love of God 
produced an heavenly one to the contempt of man. That 
glories in man, this in the Lord. That seeks glory from 
men; to this, God, the witness of the conscience, is the 
greatest^ glory. That exalts the head in its own glory; 
this says .to its God : thou art my glory, and the 
LIFTER UP OF MY HEAD. In that the lust of power reigns; 
in this men serve one another in love, governors in pro- 
viding, subjects in obeying. That loves its own strength, 
this says to its God, I will love thee, O Lord, my 
STRENGTH. In that wise men live according to man, and 
pursue the goods of body or mind, or both, or, if they 
know God, honor him not as God, nor are thankful. In 
this human wisdom is of no account, godliness is all, in 
which the true God is worshipped, and the reward in the 
societv of saints and angels is expected, that God may 
be all'in all." 

In the fifteenth book he enters upon the second part 
of the history of the two states, namely, their progress. 
He describes very justly the two types, Sarah and Agar, 
and illustrates the spirit and genius of the two sects by 
the cases of Cain and Abel.^ He confutes those who 
would make the lives of the antediluvians of shorter du- 
ration than that assigned them in Scripture. His reflec- 
tions on the ark and the deluge are just, though to us 
they can contain little that is new, and, in the last chap- 
ter, he shews that the literal and allegorical sense of 
Scripture ought both to be supported, without deprecia- 
_ting either. 

The sixteenth book carries on the history of the City 



THE GREAT HISTORICAL AGES. 321 

of God from Noah to David, and contains important 
instruction throughout, especially to those who have not 
read the same things in modern authors. 

The seventeenth book may be called the prophetic his- 
tory. He shews a double sense must necessarily be 
affixed to the words of the prophets, in which sometimes 
the literal, sometimes the spiritual, and sometimes both 
senses are applicable. He justly observes, therefore, 
that the Scriptures are to be understood in a tripartite 
sense. And he gives an admirable instance of his views 
in Hannah's song in the first book of Samuel, in which a 
king is prophesied of, at a time when no king was in Is- 
rael, His comment on the Psalms are excellent also to 
the same purpose. These views are so remote from the 
usual mode of reasoning in our times, that they will not 
easily find credit in the world. But I will venture to 
affirm, that the more men study the Scriptures, the more 
they will see the justness of Augustine's remarks, and 
the necessity of admitting them. 

In the eighteenth book he displays much learning in 
describing the times of the world coeval with those of the 
church of God, to the birth of Christ. He proves the 
superior antiquity of prophetic authority to that of any 
philosophers. The remarkable harmony of the sacred 
writers in the promotion of one system, and the endless 
discordancies of philosophers, are ably contrasted. Yet, 
he proves from the earliest times that the citizens of the 
new Jerusalem were not confined absolutely to Jewry. 

In speaking of the times of Christ and the propagation 
of the gospel, he observes: " In this malignant world, in 
these evil days, whilst the cKurch is procuring future 
dignity by present humility, and is disciplined by the in- 
centives of fear, the torments of pain, the fatigue of 
labors, and the dangers of temptations, rejoicing only in 
hope, when her joy is sound, many reprobates are mixed 
with the good; both are collected into the gospel-net, 
and both, included in this world as in a sea, swim pro- 
miscuously till they reach the shore, where the bad shall 
be severed from the good, and in the good, as in his 
temple, God shall be all in all." Christ chose disciples 
meanly born, obscure, and illiterate, that whatever great 
things they should do, he might be in them, and do all. 



322 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

One he had among them, whose evil he turned to good, 
by making it an instrument of his passion, and affording 
an example to his church of enduring evil. His holy 
church being planted, so far as his bodily presence re- 
quired, he suffered, died, rose again, shewing, by his 
passion, what we ought to sustain for the truth, by his 
resurrection what to hope for in eternity; and this is an 
additional lesson to the great mystery of redemption, by 
which his blood was shed for the remission of our sins. 
He proves that the faith of the gospel is strengthened by 
the dissensions of heretics; and, after some observations 
on Antichrist, as just as might be expected in his time, 
he concludes with a remark on a pagan prophecy, which 
affirmed that the Christian religion would only continue 
three hundred and sixty-five years. " What may be do- 
ing, says he, at the end of this period in other parts of 
the world, it may be needless to inquire. I will mention 
what I know: in the renowned city of Carthage, the im- 
perial officers, in the year following the predicted extinc- 
tion of Christianity, overturned the temples of the idols, 
and broke the images. And for the space of thirty years 
since that time, the falsity of the pagan divination being 
notorious, occasion hath been given to render the pro- 
gress of the gospel still more triumphant." 

The four last books describe the issues of the two 
states. The nineteenth deserves the studious attention 
of every scholar, who would accurately distinguish be- 
tween theology and philosophy. He contrasts the ideas 
of happiness exhibited by both with j^reat clearness, and 
while he does justice to all the good that is found in 
secular systems, he points out their fundamental errors. 
The principles of evangelical virtue are stated ; the 
miseries of life are described, and both the true relief 
against them which the gospel proposes is exhibited, and 
the false consolations of philosophy are justly exposed. 
In fine, the reader will find here the mass of secular phi- 
losophy reduced to order, its errors detected, and the 
very picture of the Christian state and genius delineated. 

The twentieth book undertakes to describe the last 
judgment. But as the vigorous and discursive genius 
of the author led him to handle a multitude of intricate 
questions, and to undertake the exposition of some of the 



THE GREAT HISTORICAL AGES. 323 

most difficult prophecies in the Scripture, for which the 
early times in which he lived were unequal, through 
want of the evidence of their accomplishment, almost 
the whole is very uninteresting. 

In the two last books he gives his ideas of the punish- 
ment of the wicked, and of the happiness of the righteous 
in a future state. The former, though it has a mixture 
of curious questions, more subtile than important,, will 
from the eleventh chapter to the end deserve a careful 
perusal. T have not seen, in so small a compass, a 
sounder answer to the objections of men against the 
divine justice in punishing sin eternally, than is to be 
found in the eleventh and twelfth chapters. It appears 
that the Lord's prayer was daily used by the church in 
his time, and though he seems to give an unsound inter- 
pretation of our Lord's words, of making friends or the 
MAMMON OF UNRIGHTEOUSNESS, yet he confcsscs his in- 
terpretation would be dangerous in practice ; and he 
protests against the ideas of those who imagine they can 
atone for their sins by alms. He refutes various pre- 
sumptions of men, who expect to escape the damnation 
of hell, without a sound conversion. 

In the last book, which describes the eternal rest of 
the City of God, he thinks proper to dwell a little on the 
external evidences of Christianity, and in speaking of 
miracles, he describes, in chapter eight, some 'which 
were wrought in his own time. One of them, the healing 
of a disorder, seems peculiarly striking, because it was 
in answer to prayer. I have again to regret the scholas- 
tic and subtile taste of his times, interwoven with most 
important matter. The twenty-second chapter gives as 
striking a proof, drawn from facts, of human apostacy as 
I have seen. The reflections in the two next chapters 
are also admirable. And he closes with a delightful 
view of the eternal felicity of the church of God. 

Should the very imperfect sketch I have given of this 
work, one of the greatest efforts of genius and learning 
in any age, induce any classical scholars to peruse it 
with candor and attention, and, by the blessing of God, 
to imbibe some portion of the heavenly spirit of the 
author, I shall have cause to rejoice. 

The Life of St. Augustine was written by PossidiuSj 



324 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

sometimes called Passidoius, (an African) a pious priest 
of his diocese, afterwards Bishop of Calama. 

St. Augustine lived seventy-six jears, forty of which 
he had been a presbyter, or bishop. This holy man died 
in the triumph of faith, at the city of Hippo, in Africa, 
A. D. 430, and left his valuable library for the church of 
Christ. 

The Epistle to Egyptiua is full of charity, and 
describes the greatness of the Christian graces in a man- 
ner much resembling that of St. Augustine's Epistle to 
Theodorus. 

Vigilius, an African, was of Thapsus ; he was a man 
famous for his writings. He composed a number of 
treatises, under the names of the most renowned Fath- 
ers. The creed, called that of Athanasius, is ascribed 
to him. 

Mark, the Hermit of Africa, a writer on the spiritual 
life and labor of man, describes the conflict truly solemn 
for eternity. 

Rammohun Roy, the Hindoo philosopher and theolo- 
gian, was a native of Bengal, and has rendered himself 
conspicuous both in India and Europe, by his talents and 
learning, and discovers a familiar and profound acquaint- 
ance with the various living languages, and is said to be 
well read in the Greek and Hebrew. By his writings in 
most of these he has proved himself to be one of the most 
learned and remarkable men of the present age. 

Victorinus, of Africa, was a Christian historian. He 
wrote against the Arians and the Manichees. In his 
treatise against the latter, he addresses his friend Jus- 
tinius, who had been deceived by them, in this manner : 
" In vain do you macerate yourself with excessive mor- 
tification ; for after you have worn away yourself by 
your austerities, your flesh will return to the devil, in 
darkness. I advise you to acknowledge that God Al- 
mighty created you, that you may be truly the temple of 
God according to the words of the Apostle. You are 
the temple of God; and his Spirit dwelleth in you! If 
you have not the honor to be the temple of God, and to 
receive the Holy Spirit in you, Jesus Christ is come not 
to save, but to destroy you." 

OptatuSj of Africa, wrote an able treatise against the ^ 



THE GREAT HISTORICAL AGES. 325 

Donatists. He was the author of many other sensible 
writings. 

Apollinarii — father and son — of Africa. The father a 
presbyter, and the son a reader in the Church. Both 
skilled in Greek Literature; the father taught Grammar, 
the son Rhetoric. Epiphanius, a professor of philosophy, 
was united with them in the closest intimacy. These 
men were doubtless persons of superior capacity. The 
son, particularly, was one of the greatest men of his 
time, in learning, genius, and powers of argument. His 
answer to Porphyry is looked on as the best defence of 
Christianity against Paganism. He it was who, in Ju- 
lian's time, endeavored to compensate to the Christian 
world, the loss of the classical authors, from the study 
of whom they were debarred by the persecution of that 
Emperor. He wrote poems and dialogues in imitation 
of Sophocles and Plato, on scriptural subjects. His 
translation of the Psalms into Greek verse, which re- 
mains to this day, is highly commended. 

Didymus, of Africa, may be fairly matched with Apol- 
linarius in greatness of understanding and accomplish- 
ments, though he lost his sight at the age of five years. 
He became so vigorous and successful a student that he 
was renowned for his skill in Philosophy, Rhetoric, and 
Geometry. He filled the chair of the famous school at 
Alexandria with vast applause. Origenism was his fa- 
vorite system, though, as far as appears, he continued 
always sound. His treatise on the Holy Spirit, the 
Latin translation of which, by Jerome, has only come 
down to us, is perhaps the best the Christian world ever 
saw on the subject. And whatever has been said since 
that time in defence of the Divinity and Personality of 
the Holy Ghost, seem, in substance, to be found in that 
book. 

Theophilus, Paulinus, Alpius, Sulpicius Severus, Flo- 
rentius, Isidore, Cassian, Hilary, Vincentus Primasius, 
Timotheus, ^Elumus, Honoratus, Politian, Antony, and 
Faustus, learned Christian writers of Africa. 

The celebrated Victor, of Africa. His history of the 
African persecutions is very affecting, and who himself 
suffered for righteousness sake, will deserve to be added 
Jo this list. Joseph Milner, A. M., has made much use 



326 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

of his history in writing the history of the Church of 
Christ. 

Jason, an African, of Gyrene, wrote five books of 
2 Mac. ii, Acts ii, 10, the history of the second book of 
Maccabees being an abstract and breviary, of the five 
books of Jason, a Jew, of Cyrene.. 

MODERN HISTORIANS. 

De Vastey, an African, and once, we believe, a slave, 
an eloquent man of St. Domingo, who published several 
works. The following are extracts from his pen : — 

" Every species of calumny and absurdity has been 
invented to palliate the atrocious injustice of white men, 
toward those whom they have tormented and persecuted 
for ages. 

*' Posterity will find it difficult to believe, that in an en- 
lightened age like ours, there are men, who call themselves 
philosophers, willing to reduce human beings to an equal- 
ity with brutes, merely for the sake of sanctioning the 
abominable privilege of oppressing a large portion of 
mankind. While I am now writing, I can scarcely re- 
frain from laughter, at the absurdities which have been 
published on this subject. Learned authors, and skilful 
anatomists, have passed their lives in discussing facts as 
clear as daylight, and in dissecting the bodies of men 
and animals, in order to prove that I, who am now wri- 
ting, belong to the race of Ourang-Outangs! Edward 
Long gravely advances, as a proof of the moral inferior- 
ity of the black man, that our vermin are black, and that 
we eat wild-cats. Hanneman maintains that our color 
originates in the curse pronounced by Noah against Ca- 
naan; others affirm that it was a mark fixed upon Cain, 
for the murder of his brother Abel. For myself, I see 
strong reasons to believe that the white men are the real 
descendants of Cain; for I still find in them that primi- 
tive hatred, that spirit of envy and of pride, and that 
passion for riches, which the Scriptures inform us led 
him to sacrifice his brother. 

" I smile while I ask whether we are still in those 
ages of ignorance and superstition, which saw Coperni- 
cus and Galileo condemned as heretics and sorcerers? 



THE GREAT HISTORICAL AGES. 327 

Or whether we are really living in an age of light, which 
has given birth to so many great men, who have immor- 
talized their country by illustrious works?" 

Benoit, of Palermo, an African, called by historians 
the " Holy Black," was among the most eulogized and 
honored saints in the Roman Catholic Church of the age 
in which he lived. He died at Palermo, A. D. 1589. 

Francis Williams, an African, was born in Jamaica, 
about the close of the 17th century. He was sent to 
England, and there entered the University of Cambridge. 
After his return to Jamaica, he opened a school for 
instruction in Latin and Mathematics. He wrote many 
pieces in Latin verse, in which he discovered great 
talents. 

Don Juan Latino, an African, was a distinguished 
teacher of the Latin language at Seville, in Spain, dur- 
ing the last century. 

John Capitein, an African, was born in Africa, and 
was carried to Holland, and there employed himself in 
painting. He acquired the elements of the Latin, Greek, 
Hebrew, and Chaldaic languages, and afterwards enter- 
ed the University of Leyden, where he devoted himself 
to the study of Theology. Having studied the regular 
academic term, he received his degrees while in Hol- 
land. He published an elegy in Latin verse, two Latin 
dissertations, one on the calling of the Gentiles, and the 
other on slavery, and a small volume of sermons in the 
Dutch language. 

Anthony William Amo, an African. He was born in 
Guinea, and brought to Europe when very young, under 
the patronage of the Princess of Brunswick. He pursued 
his studies at Halle, in Saxony, and at Williambergj 
where he greatly distinguished himself by his talents and 
good conduct. In 1734, he took the degree of Doctor ill 
Philosophy at the University of Williamberg. He was 
skilled in the Greek and Latin languages, and was well 
acquainted with the ancient and modern systems of phi- 
losophy. His lectures upon philosophy were well re- 
ceived. In 1744 he supported a Thesis at William-berg, 
and published a dissertation on the absence of sensation 
in the soul, and its presence in the human body. He 
was appointed Professor, and the same year supported a 



328 LIGHT AND TRUTH. "" 

Thesis on the distinction which ought to be made between 
the operations of mind and those of sense. 

Lakman, an African, was a distinguished man. He 
wrote some fables, which are yet extant, and have some 
celebrity. He is surnamed, in Arabia and among the 
Eastern nations, " the Wise," and by the Mahometans 
he is believed to have been a Prophet. To Lakman's 
opinions Mahomet frequently appeals, in the Koran, in 
support of his own. He died and was buried near Jeru- 
salem. 

Kislar Aga, an African, was a man of great wisdom 
and profound knowledge. In 1730 he was chief of the 
eunuchs of the Grand Seignior at Constantinople. 

Job Ben Solomon, an African, a son of the Mahometan 
King of Bunda, on the Gambia. He was captured in 
1730, and sold in Maryland, U. S.; he afterwards found 
his way to England, {aland of freedom;) here, his tal- 
ents, dignified air, and amenity of character, procured 
him many friends; he was received at the Court of St. 
James with high distinction, and among others, by Sir 
Hans Sloane, for whom he translated several Arabic 
manuscripts. He is said to have been able to repeat the 
Koran from memory. 

Captain Paul CufTee, an African, the youngest son of 
John Cuffee, was sold in this country a slave; in time 
he obtained his freedom. He afterwards purchased a 
farm, and having married one of the native Indians, 
brought up a family of ten children respectably, on one 
of the Elizabeth Islands, near New Bedford, Massa- 
chusetts. In the year 1773, when Paul was about lour- 
teen years of age, his father dying left a widow with six 
children to the care of him and his brothers. He ad- 
vanced in knowledge, in arithmetic and navigation. He 
commanded his own vessel in its voyages to many ports 
in the Southern States, the West Indies, England, Rus- 
sia, and to Africa. The beginning of his business in 
this line was in an open boat; he was at length enabled 
to obtain a good sized schooner, then a brig, and after- 
wards a ship. In the year 1806 he owned a ship, two 
brigs, and several small vessels, besides considerable 
property in houses and land. He employed his time in 
teaching navigation to his own family, and to the young 



THE GREAT HISTORICAL AGES. 329 

men of the neighborhood. Even on his voyages, when 
opportunity offered, he instructed those under his care 
in that useful art. He was so conscientious that he 
would not enter into any business, however profitable, 
that might have a tendency to injure his fellow-men. 
He had a store of West India goods, and seeing the 
dreadful effects of drunkenness, he would not deal in 
ardent spirits on that account. In Westport, the town 
where he lived, there was no school; and, as he was 
anxious that his children should obtain an education, he 
built a school-house on his own land at his own expense, 
and gave his neighbors the free use of it, being satisfied 
in seeing it occupied for so useful and excellent a pur- 
pose. 

In many parts of his history we may discover that ex- 
cellent trait of character which rendered him so emi- 
nently useful, a steady perseverance in laudable under- 
takings. His mind had long been affected with the 
degraded, oppressed, and miserable condition of his 
brethren in this country; and, his heart yearning toward 
them, he sought to relieve them, believing it to be hrs 
duty to use a part of what God had given him for their 
benefit. 

As a private man he was just and upright in all his 
dealings. He was an aflfectionate husband, a kind fa- 
ther, a good neighbor, and a faithful friend. He was pious 
without ostentation, and warmly attached to the princi- 
ples of the Society of Friends of which he was a member. 
Such was his reputation for wisdom and integrity that 
his neighbors consulted him in all their important con- 
cerns. What an honor conferred on us! The most 
respectable men in Great Britain and America were not 
ashamed to seek him for counsel and advice. He lived 
and died a Christian. 

David Walker, an African, was a distinguished Friend, 
a good writer, and a warm advocate for the oppressed 
and miserable condition of his brethren in slavery. His 
celebrated appeal in behalf of his brethren is highly es- 
teemed by wise men; he was a man of a strong mind 
and great talents. The city of Boston, Mass,, was his 
place of residence, where he died, 

William Apes, an Indian, was a minister of the gospel 
22 



330 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

of Christ our Lord. "Oh Israel, or Indians, my peo- 
ple," like the prophet of old, he was constrained to cry 
out, " oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes foun- 
tains of tears, that I mi^ht weep day and night for the 
slain of the daughters of my people, Israel or Indians, 
whoni they have scattered among the nations and parted 
my land." In his history of the native tribes of Indians, 
he shows his talents, his knowledge of the Scriptures, 
and the wrongs inflicted on his people by this nation; 
the worth of souls, and the judgments of God that will 
fall upon this people as a nation. 

HosEA E ASTON. — ^ This individual was born at North 
Bridgewater, Mass. He, with three brothers, met a 
premature grave, on account of the cursed prejudices 
existing against them in their town, by reason of their 
complexion. His father was born in Middleboro', Mass., 
and served eight months in the service of his country, in 
times when " men's souls were tried." His " Treatise 
on the civil and political condition of the colored popula- 
tion of the United States," is a profound production, and 
gives a true sketch of the condition of this class of 
people. 

FEMALE WRITERS. 

Cornelia, the daughter of Scipio Africanus, was dis- 
tinguished for virtue, learning, and good sense. She 
wrote and spoke with uncommon elegance and purity. 
Cicero and Q,uinctilian bestow high praise upon her let- 
ters; and the eloquence of her children was attributed 
to her careful superintendence. 

Hypatia, the daughter of Theon, of Alexandria, in 
Africa, succeeded her father in the government of the 
Platonic school, and filled with reputation a seat where 
many celebrated philosophers had taught. The people 
regarded her as an oracle, and magistrates consulted 
her in all important cases. 

Phillis Wheatley. — This distinguished colored young 
woman was brought a slave fror.i Africa to America, in 
the year 1761, when between seven and eight years of 
age, and sold to Mr. John Wheatley, a respectable citi- 
zen of Boston, in whose family she continued to reside. 
According to his testimony, "without any assistance 



THE GREAT HISTORICAL AGES. 331 

from school education, with only what she was taught in 
the family, in sixteen months from the time of her arri- 
val, she attained the English language, to which she was 
before an utter strangf-r, to such a degree, as to read 
any, the most difficult parts of the sacred writings, to the 
great astonishment of all who heard her." The records 
of school education may be safely challenged to show an 
equal improvement in an equal time. Her master further 
stated that, "as to her writing, her own curiosity led 
her to it; and this she learned in so short a time, that in 
the year 1765 she wrote a letter to the Rev. ivlr. Occum, 
the Indian minister, while he was in England." Thus, 
in about four years from the time when this interesting 
little girl was seized by some lawless gang of free-boot- 
ers in Africa, torn from her parents and friends, and 
carried into a foreign land, a stranger to its manners 
and its language, and when she was only eleven years 
old, while she was laboring as a slave, without the ad- 
vantages of a school education, by her own efforts and 
mental energy, she had so far advanced in improvement 
as to write a respectable letter to an Indian minister, 
then in a foreign country, who had previously been edu- 
cated at Dartmouth College, in New Hampshire. 

After she had obtained a very respectable comman'd of 
the English language, as her writings testify, she was 
not content with this acquisition. Her master further 
states, " she has a great inclination to learn the Latin 
tongue, and has made some progress in it." 

In 1772, when she was about seventeen years of age, 
and had been ten years in America, her poetical pr< duc- 
tions, which were written as an amusement in her leisure 
hours, became known to her friends, who earnestly ad- 
vised to their publication. Though nothing was further 
from her thoughts, while composing them, than such a 
use of them, yet, in deference to their judgment, and in 
compliance with their wishes, it was done. 

The publisher, justly fearful lest the fact should be 
questioned that these poems were really written by 
Phillis, very prudently procured the following attesta- 
tion: "We, whose names are underwritten, do assure 
the world, that the poems specified in the following page, 
(referring to the table of contents in the manuscript) 



332 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

were (as we verily believe) written by Phillis, a young 
African girl, who was, but a few years since, brought an 
uncultivated barbarian from Africa, and has ever since 
been, and now is, under the disadvantage of serving as 
a slave in a family in this town. She has been examined 
by the best judges, and is thought qualified to write 
them." This certificate was signed by the existing 
Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts, 
and by all the most distinguished civilians and clergy of 
Boston. Among the names is that of John Hancock, the 
president oi the first American Congress. 

As the little volume of poems here referred to is, at 
the present time, rarely to be met with, a few extracts 
from it may be interesting to our readers, and will be 
honorable to African genius. 

Phillis evinces that her reading had been considerably 
extensive, for she often alludes to the classic writers of 
antiquity in a way which shows that she was not ignorant 
of their works. The following allusion to the writings 
of Homer is found in one of her poems: 

While Homer paints, lo ! circumfused in air 

Celestial gods in mortal forms appear; 

Swift as they move hear each recess rebound, 

Heav'n quakes, earth trembles, and the shores resound. 

Great sire of verse, before my mortal eyes, 

The lightnings blaze across the vaulted skies. 

And as the thunder shakes the heavenly plains, 

A deep-felt horror thrills through all my veins. 

When gentle strains demand thy graceful song, 

The length'ning line moves languishing along. 

When great Patroclus courts Achilles' aid, 

The grateful tribute of my tears is paid; 

i'rone on the shores he feels the pangs of love, 

And stern Pelides^ tend'rest passions move. 

Though Phillis had doubtless read with satisfaction 
Pope's translation of Homer, a work which is exceed- 
ingly rich in poetic imagery, yet the mythology and ex- 
'ploits of the heathen were not the subjects on which she 
delighted most to dwell. The following is the commence- 
ment of a poem on the death of the Rev. George White- 
I, written in 1770, when she was about fifteen years 



THE GREAT HISTORICAL AGES. 333 

of age. This poem was sent, by the friends of Phillis, to 
the Countess of Huntingdon, the distinguished patroness 
of Whitefield in England; and it procured from that lady 
an invitation to Phillis to visit England, which she did, 
by the consent of her master. Though she was intro- 
duced to many distinguished persons, and treated with 
much attention in England, she returned to America the 
same modest, unassuming young woman as when she left 
it. What would have completely overset some minds in 
such circumstances, produced no unfavorable influence 
upon her. 

Hail, happy saint, on thine immortal throne, 
Possest of glory, life, and bliss unknown ; 
We hear no more the music of thy tongue, 
Thy wonted auditories cease to throng. 
Thy sermons in unequalPd accents flow'd, 
And every bosom with devotion glow'd ; 
Thou didst in strains of eloquence refin'd 
Inflame the heart, and captivate the mind. 
Unhappy we the setting sun deplore, 
So glorious once, but ah ! it shines no more. 

Behold the prophet in his towering flight ! 
He leaves the earth for heaven's unmeasured height, 
And worlds unknown receive him from our sight. 
There Whitefield wings with rapid course his way, 
And sails to Zion through vast seas of day. 

The following is the commencement of a poem on the 
works of Providence: 

Arise, my soul, on wings enraptur'd rise. 
To praise the monarch of the earth and skies, 
Whose goodness and beneficence appear, 
As round the centre moves the rolling year, 
Or when the morning glows with rosy charms, 
Or the sun slumbers in the ocean's arms : 
Of light divine be a rich portion lent, 
To guide my soul, and favor my intent : 
Celestial muse, my arduous flight sustain, 
And raise my mind to a seraphic strain. 

Phiilis's harp was early unstrung on earth, but, it is 
boped, to be tuned to sublimer melody in heaven. She 



334 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

died in 1784, aged about 31 years. Her name has ob- 
tained an honorable place in the most respectable bio- 
graphical dictionaries; and those works would probably 
be searched in vain for an instance of equal improvement 
under equal disadvantages. 

It is not improbable that some native poet may yet 
strike the lyre in Africa, with a note as much more ele- 
vated than that of Phillis, as the opportunities for im- 
provement there are likely to be superior to those which 
she enjoyed. In that interesting country intellectual and 
moral improvement should go hand in hand; and a com- 
munity may yet arise which the people of the United 
States will delight to acknowledge as founded by their 
benevolence, and reared by their exertions. Many Afri- 
can minds are capable of high cultivation, and may yet 
be made to send out from Africa the cheering radiance 
of intelligence and virtue in a region now overspread 
with an intellectual and moral midnight. 

Maria Stewart, whose talents and love of virtue, digni- 
fied air, and amenity ot character procured her many 
friends; and whose mind being awakened with the sense 
of duty she owed to God, wrote a powerful appeal in be- 
half of the degraded and oppressed people which are in 
this land of Christianity ; saying, Come ye poor and 
needy, despised, and afflicted outcast people unto God. 
" Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excel- 
leth them all. Favor is deceitful, and beauty is vain; 
but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised. 
Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her own work 
praise her in the gates." 

BURNING OF THE LIBRARIES. 

It has already been said, that in very early times 
Egypt was the land of science; it was a great character, 
therefore, to give Moses, when it is said of him, Acts vii. 
22, that " he was learned in all the wisdom of Egypt." 

When the Ptolemies, descendants of Alexander's fa- 
mous general, ruled in Egypt, they brought all the taste 
and elegance of Grecian philosophy into the country. 
One of them, Ptolemy Soter, founded a library in Alex- 
andria, and gathered a hundred thousand volumes; to 
which were added, in the course of years, so many as 



THE GREAT HISTORICAL AGES. 335 

made up seven hundred thousand in the time of Julius 
Caesar; by whose soldiers more than half of them were 
destroyed. The library was, however, tilled again, and 
kept with great care, as a treasure of all that human in- 
tellect had ever produced most worthy. But, in the year 
642, when the Saracens or Moors conquered Egypt, who 
were Mahomedans, and who reverenced the Koran, their 
general, Omar, ordered the rich collection to be burnt, 
like an ignorant barbarian, as he was; saying, " If there 
is any thing in these books besides what is in the Koran, 
it is false; and if it is only the same, we don't want them 
while we have that." For some months, therefore, the 
books of this most ancient and magnificent library were 
used to cook their victuals, and to warm their baths. 



336 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 



CHAPTER XI. 



THE ANCIENT ARABIANS. 



The Arabians a people of color, are the only people who 
have preserved their descent, their language, independence, 
manners, and customs from the earliest age; and to vv'hom we 
are to look for examples of patriarchal life and habits. The 
tribes in general choose to pitch their tents — whether on a 
hill or plain — so as to form a circular encampment. A col- 
lection of black tents thus arranged, is said to present a pleas- 
ing and beautiful appearance to the distant traveller. Tents 
were first made it is thoucrht of skins of animals, fastened 
to a long pole set perpendicularly into the ground, — and 
the covering was drawn away from the bottom of the pole 
so as to form a small round dwelling. Subsequently tents 
were enlarged and made oblong. Tents w-ere first invented 
in the family of Jubal — brother of Noah, and son of La- 
mech. The covering of the large tents, was made of goat's 
hair, and was black. This fact beautifully illustrates the 
passage in the Song of Solomon : " I am black as the tents 
of Kedar." Kedar was the second son of Ishmael : and 
Isaiah frequently personifies the Arabians under the name 
ofKedar. (Isa. 20th and 69th chap.) " The curtains of 
Solomon" was a shelter in Arabia — a cavern whither the 
Arabian shepherds gathered their herds and flocks at night, 
for refuge. Tents are very portable dwellings ; and are 
therefore conveniently adapted to the habits of those wan- 
dering tribes whose occupation leads them to frequent re- 
movals to different parts of the country. 

When they remove from one place to another, they take 
their tenth with them ; and when they stop, they erect them 
again; this they call " pitching their tents." 

It appears, that about the time of the Hebrews' bondage 



THE ANCIENT ARABIANS. 337 

in Egypt, a number of the Arabian tribes passed the Red 
Sea at the straits of Babelmandel. And the Ludims in 
ages still earlier, settled in that country. The language of 
the ancient Arabians, and of the modern Abyssinians, and 
many of their laws were much the same with those of the 
ancient Egyptians. The Arabians seem to have been orig- 
inally divided into a great number of tribes — with kings 
at the head of each. It is supposed that they worship Am- 
nion, the offspring of Lot, in the person of their chief deity. 

Mahomet, an Arabian, was founder of the religion which 
is called by his name. He was born in Mecca, Arabia, on 
the Red Sea, anno domini, 569. 

The religion of which he was the author, was a system 
of Asiatic and Arabian voluptuousness, grafted on the mo- 
rality of the Gospel and partly upon some of the rites of 
Judaism. The Koran which he wrote in detached por- 
tions, embodies the substance of his religion, and is the 
sacred book of the iVlussulmen. Mahomet never laid down 
his arms from the time he captured Mecca, till he subdued 
all Arabia, and a part of Syria; impressing his religion 
wherever he extended his conquests. He died in the midst 
of his successes, at the age of 61, A. D. 

AviENNA, an Arabian philosopher and physician. 

THE ARABIC LANGUAGE. 

The Hebrew lanffuagre — the most ancient in the world, 
after gradually pervading in Samaria and Chaldea, was 
carried into the country of Arabia, by Kahtang, an ancient 
Arabian king, and a descendant of Ishmael ; and either 
formed the root of the Arabic, or, by a commixture with 
it, both in respect to idiom and verbal expression, gave birth 
to a language as new as compounded. The Arabic is now 
divided into many dialects, which vary from each other no 
less in construction than in pronunciation. It is, however, 
notwithstanding these diversities, so generally understood 
in Africa and most parts of Asia, that, according to the 
statement of an able and respectable writer on the subject, 
a traveller who possesses a thorough knowledge of this lan- 
guage, may pass from the shores of the Mediterranean to 
the Cape of Good Hope ; may cross the widest part of the 
African continent from east to west ; may follow the course 



338 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

of the Nile, and from Morocco to the eastern shores of 
China, opposite the islands of Japan, and find himself every 
where understood. 

The Arabic language, independently of its different dia- 
lects, is divided into two principal parts -^ the ZiUflw en- 
nahwi, or grammatical language ; and the Lisan-damma^ 
or vulgar tongue. The former of these is the pure ancient 
Arabic, and forms in itself a dialect of the Hebrew ; suffi- 
cient indications of which appear in the resemblance of the 
characters of one to those of the other. The latter is used 
in the three Arabias; and is likewise spoken, with some 
variation of dialect, over great part of the East, from Egypt 
to the court of the Great Mogul. 

By the Eastern nations, the Arabic language is esteemed 
the richest and most energetic of any in the world ; and it 
is taught in their schools, as Greek and Latin are in the 
academies of Europe and America. But its distinguishing 
honor is, that it is the language in which the Koran was 
written, and the only one in which the Turks will allow the 
sacred text to be publicly read. They regard it as the lan- 
guage of Paradise; and since it comprises several millions 
of words, think, and certainly not without reason, that no 
one can be perfectly master of its treasures. The great 
number of its synonymes forms one of the distinguishing 
features of this language. To express the article Iwney, it 
has more than eighty different words — possesses two hun- 
dred names for the serpent, five hundred for the lion, a 
thousand for the camel, and a thousand and some hundreds 
for a sword. 

The modern Arabic is written from right to lefl, and its 
alphabet is composed of twenty-eight letters ; being six 
more than are contained either in that of the Samaritan, or 
of the Chaldean. 

The Arabs have also a character called Lamalif, com- 
posed o^ Lam and Alif; the power of which is equivalent 
to the sound la, in English. The numeric value of the 
letters corresponds with that of the Hebrew characters ; 
i. e. from Alif to Ra, is from one to ten ; Za is twenty, 
and Sin is thirty, and so forth; while the six extra charac- 
ters are employed, as are the Hebrew elongations and finals, 
in carryincr on the series from four hundred, where the 
twenty-second letter stops, to one thousand. Indeed, these 



THE ANCIENT ARABIANS. 339 

latter six characters are varied from their primitives, only 
by their points, in appearance ; and only by a gutteral, or 
aspirate, in sound. 

The Arabians use five orthographical points for the gov- 
ernment of their characters. Hamra, placed on the letters 
Alif\ Waw, and Ya, doubles the vowel : Wesla, or Ousla, 
is put over Alif, to indicate that its own sound is merged 
in that of the succeeding letter. 3f(ddn is placed on Alif, 
to render it long; and it is also employed as a mark, or 

sign. 

The Saracens, or Moors from Arabia, brought into Eu- 
rope the figures in Arithmetic, and the Letters of the Al- 
phabet, about 991 years A. C. 

THE WORD NEGRO. 

Negro is derived from the Latin term niger — mean- 
ing^ black. 

The following terms and definitions are in the Ameri- 
can edition of Dr. Walker's Dictionary. 
Moor — a marsh, a fen ; a negro. 
Marsh — a fen, a bog, a swamp; a plant. 
Moorish — fenny, marshy, 
Neqro — blackmoor. 

In Dr. Johnson's Dictionary — American edition, by 
Rev. Joseph Hamilton, M. A., 1810 — we find these 
words thus defined: 

Black — dark, cloudy, mournful, wicked. 
Black — a negro, the dark color, mourning. 
Moor — a negro, marsh, fen, bog. 
Moorish or Moory — marshy, fenny. 
Negro — a blackmoor, (a Moor.) 

In the Dictionary for schools, by Dr. Webster, 
American edition, we find these words thus defined: 
Ne^ro, an African by birth, or a descendant of one 
of full blood. 

Moor, a black man, a marsh. 

Marsh, low ground. 

Negro, a blackmoor, a slave, a mean wretch. 

Moor, a black, marsh, watery ground. 

Marsh, a fen, a bog, a swamp, watery ground. 

In Dr. Webster's definition of the complexion of the 



340 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

skin, he calls it the blood of Africa, or their descend- 
ants — as follows : 

Mangroon, is all black, a full blood, (a whole negro.) 
Sambo, is three quarters blood, (three quarters negro.) 
Mulatto, is one half blood, (one half negro.) 
Quadroon, is one quarter blood, (one quarter negro.) 
Mestizo, is a half quarter blood, (a half quarter negro.) 
Niger, a Latin word, was formerly used by the Moors 
— the old Romans, to designate any black, inferior ob- 
ject, &c., a plant, a marsh, flat, moist ground, bog, or 
animal. 

Micah, the Morasthite (a prophet of the Moors,) proph- 
esied in the days of Hezekiah, king of Judah; and spake 
to all the people of Judah, (the Moors,) saying, thus 
saith the Lord of hosts: Zion shall be ploughed like a 
field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, (a forest.) 

Micah showeth the wrath of God against Jacob for 
idolatry. (Jer. xxvi. 18. Micah i. 1.) 

Moserath was built by the Moors, in the Desert of Pa- 
ran, in the land of Amalek, and was the ancient encamp- 
ment of Israel in the days of Moses. 

In the Moorish war of Adel, in Africa, some of the 
books of Moses were burnt. 

Moriah, a hill adjacent to Jerusalem, on the northeast. 
Here Abraham offered his son. Gen. xxii. When Solo- 
mon built the temple on it, it became included in the 
city. 2 Chron. iii. 1. 

The appellation of Moor is given to those successors 
of Mahomet — Pagans, Christians, and Jews — who ex- 
tended their empire through North Africa, South Europe, 
and the islands of the Mediterranean. The Moors gained 
the highest reputation, both in Arts and Arms, of all the 
nations of the East. The mechanic and the fine arts, 
especially sculpture and painting, were in a very low 
state in Europe, when the Moors turned their attention 
to them, and cultivated them with great success. 

The Moors had founded in Africa the empire of Mo- 
rocco, which was governed by a viceroy, named Muca. 
Muca sent his general Tariff into Spain, who, in a single 
memorable engagement, stripped the Gothic king Rod- 
erigo of his life and crown, and subdued the country, 
A. D. 713. The kingdom of the Moors flourished in the 



THE ANCIENT ARABIANS, 341 

south of Spain, for the space of two centuries, in full 
vigor. Abdalrahman fixed the seat of his government at 
Cordova, and made it a place of the utmost splendor and 
magnificence. Spain's conqueror, satisfied with the sov- 
ereignty of the country, left the Goths, who had long 
been masters of Spain, in possession of their property, 
laws, and religion. And by the marriage of Abdallah, 
the Moor, with the widow of the Gothic king, the two 
nations became united. In A. D. 732, the Moors pene- 
trated from Spain into France, and defeated the duke of 
Aquitain. The siege of Constantinople by the Moors 
occurred A.D. 672. Their fleet passed through the un- 
guarded channel of the Hellespont, and disembarked 
their troops seven miles from the city. But after a thirty 
years' war, and the loss of 30,000 Moslems, they were 
compelled to relinquish the enterprise. And by a treaty 
between the two empires, ' the Faithful ' were reduced 
to submit to the payment of a heavy annual tribute. This 
badge of servitude was however soon shaken off, and the 
succeeding emperors were unable to enforce it. 

Jerusalem was taken by the Saracens, or followers of 
Mahomet, A. D. 637. 

Alexandria, in Egypt, is taken by the Saracens, and 
the grand library there burnt, by order of Omar, their 
caliph or prince, A. D. 640. 

The Caliph Omar, the third in succession from Mo- 
hammed, reduced Jerusalem under his subjection. This 
Omar was afterwards assassinated at Jerusalem, in 643. 

The Saracens continued masters of Jerusalem till the 
year 1099, when it was taken by the Crusaders, under 
Godfrey of Bouillon. They founded a new kingdom, of 
which Jerusalem was the capital, and which lasted 
eighty-eight years, under nine kings. At last this king- 
dom was utterly ruined by Saladin ; and though the 
Christians once more obtained possession of the city, 
they were again obliged to relinquish it. In 1217, the 
Saracens were expelled by the Turks, who have ever 
since continued in possession of it. 

Seventeen times has Jerusalem been taken and pil- 
laged; millions of men have been slaughtered within its 
walls. No other city has experienced such a fate. This 



342 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

protracted and almost supernatural punishment betokens 
unexampled guilt. 

The Moors. — Their dress is handsome; a sort of short 
shirt with wide sleeves, over which comes a cloth vest, 
fastened with small buttons and loops, embroidered richly 
with gold and silver; they wear linen drawers, with 
broad silk scarfs round their waist, in which they stick a 
large knife, with a curiously ornamented handle. 

The word negro is considered insulting, and is used as 
an epithet of contempt to the colored people. It has 
been long used by our common enemies in America. 
It is not only insulting, but very improper for any one to 
make use of it. Our friends, the friends of Christ, would 
do well to consider this, and never write or publish it 
again to the world. Let it be remembered that it is as 
wicked for a Christian to swear as to call a disciple of 
Christ a negro. Men of Africa were chosen b}' Christ 
our Lord to go and preach the everlasting gospel 
to every creature. See the sons of Africa who came to 
Antioch, preaching the Lord Jesus. Acts xi. 20. Men 
of Cyprus, an island of Africa, and of Cyrene, a city on 
the Mediterranean, in Africa. 

In the third century the Church of Christ was ably 
defended by the celebrated sons of Africa, Origen and 
Cyprian, learned Christian writers, commonly called 
Fathers, and St. Chrjsostom, and St. Augustine, learned 
and eloquent Fathers in the Church of Christ, and many 
others. 

I am authorized by the word of God to say, whosoever 
makes use of the word negro, applying it to us as a peo- 
ple, after the light and truth have been proclaimed, are 
neither friends to God nor man. " I say unto you, inas- 
much as ye have done it unto one of the least of these, 
my brethren, ye have done it unto we." Matt. xxv. 40. 

To call a person a negro, in the East, is expressive of 
the highest contempt. 

The dark Spaniard is proud of his descent from the 
African Moor, who first taught Europe the use of the 
Arabic figures, &c. The Arab of Africa, the most ma- 
jestic of men, with his piercing eye and flowing beard, is 
the descendant and representative of Abraham. 



THE ANCIENT ARABIANS. 343 



THE HAIR OF MEN'S HEADS. 

Our common enemies in America call frizzle or cm^y 
hair, on the head of an African, ivool. 

The Dictionary of Dr. Walker calls the fleece of a 
sheep, ivool. Cloth, called woollen, is made of^woot. 

DaniePs vision of God^s kingdom : " The ancient of 
days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the 
hair of his head like the pure wool," Dan. vii. 9. 

A description of Christ: "His head is as the most fine 
gold, his locks are bushy, and black as a raven." Solo- 
mon's Song, V. 1 1. 

Frizzle, friz'zl. v. a. to curl in short curls. 

THE ROCK OF GIBRALTAR. 

Mount Calpe, or Gibraltar, or in other words, the 
Rock of Gibraltar, taken by the Spaniards from the 
Moors, was celebrated among the ancients as one of the 
Pillars of Hercules; and, as he was the fabled god of 
strength, Gibraltar may with propriety be termed his 
pillar. The English took it from the Spanish. It is now 
called the Key olthe Mediterranean Sea; and is proba- 
bly one of the strongest fortresses in the world. Gibral- 
tar is a celebrated promontory, more than 1400 feet high, 
at the southern extremity of Spain, belonging to Great 
Britain. 

THE MOORISH CASTLE. 

This castle was taken from the Moors by the Spat ish. 
It is now called Gibraltar Castle, or by the name of the 
Spanish Castle. This castle is not very large, b(st it 
bears the marks of great age, and has not, in fact, been 
opened for several hundred years, even from the tin e it 
was first taken from the Moors. There are various and 
marvellous reasons told for keeping it closed. One rea- 
son was that the sentinels stationed at this castle for 
eight or ten days in succession, when the relief guard 
came in the morning, were found dead on the ramparts ; 
and after twenty or thirty men had been thus singularly 
cut off from the Spanish ranks, it was resolved to search 
the castle. They marched with a file of soldiers to the 



344 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

castle gate, and were just putting the key to the lock 
when some terrible disease caused the death of more 
than one-half of those who were actors in this enterprise. 
The Moors say the reason this castle was not opened by 
the Spanish was that the plague was in it. 

The Jews, since their expulsion, had offered to cover 
the rock with silver dollars, laying them flat-wise on the 
ground, provided that the rock would be given up to 
them; but the terms were not accepted; yet, if they 
would cover it with the dollars edge down it should be 
given up to them; this the Jews would not do. The 
Jews pretend to say that the Moorish Castle contains in- 
spired writings, never yet published; that they never 
would be till they were published by the Jews; that there 
were no people in existence who could find them, provi- 
ded the castle was opened for that express purpose, 
unless it was a Jew; and that no Jew would or could 
ever do it unless he was master of the soil where those 
papers were concealed; that as soon as they could effect 
this, Jewish honor would be restored; the eyes of mil- 
lions opened to the gross calumnies now circulated 
against a people, so long the proverb and song of a heart- 
less world, and for more than seventeen hundred years 
counted the abomination of the earth; and that in offer- 
ing to purchase the rock, they were not merely endeav- 
oring to regain a place and name among the nations of 
the earth, but that other motives, more important, actua- 
ted them. 

Abduhl Rahhahman, called the Moorish Prince, was 
a native of the celebrated city of Timbuctoo, in Central 
Africa, of which city, and province connected with it, 
his grand-father was king. 

Abduhl's father, when a young man, was sent to con- 
quer the Soo Soos, a nation living at the distance of 
twelve hundred miles from Timbuctoo. He succeeded, 
and established a new kingdom, called Footo Jallo, and 
founded its capital Teembo, now known as one of the 
largest cities of that continent. He removed his family 
from Timbuctoo to his newly acquired kingdom, when 
the Prince Abduhl was about five years of age. At twelve 
years of age the Prince was sent to Timbuctoo to obtain 
an education ^ — being the rightful heir to the throne, in 



THE A.NCIENT ARABIANS. 345 

|)reference to his elder brother, whose mother was a Soo 
Soo, while his own was a Moor. While the Prince was 
at Tinibilctoo, his grand-father beir>g far advanced in 
life, resigned his throne to his son, an uncle of the 
Prince. The family were all Mahometans. 

When the Prince was nineteen years of age, Dr. Cox, 
an American citizen, and surgeon on board a ship which 
arrived at Sierra Leone, having gone on a hunting expe- 
dition into the interior, and lost himself in the woods, 
found, on his return to the coast, that his vessel had 
sailed. He then undertook an excursion into the coun- 
try, and arrived at length, sick and lame, in the territory 
ofFootaJallo, Being the first white man seen in that 
country, he was carried as a great curiosity to the king, 
Abduhl's father, at Teembo. The King entertained him 
for six months with the greatest hospitality; and during 
this time he was an inmate of the Prince's house, adjoin- 
ing that of his father. When the Doctor was perfectly 
restored to health, he was dismissed by the King, and 
furnished with clothes, gold, ivory, and an escort of 
armed men to protect him to Sierra Leone. In the inte- 
rim his ship had providentially returned, and the Doctor 
arrived safely in America. Would the Christians in the 
Southern part of the United States do the same to an 
Ethiopian or Indian ? 

The Prince (Abduhl Rahhahman) a colonel in his fa- 
ther's cavalry, was sent with a party of seventeen hundred 
men to retaliate upon the Hebohs — who had very n)uch 
annoyed the trade of the people of Foota Jallo with the sea 
coast. On the return of the Prince after a successful cam- 
paign, he was taken prisoner by the Hebohs, who surprised 
him and his party by ambush. He was sold to the Man- 
dingoes; and they in turn sold him to a slave ship at the 
mouth of the Gambia ; thence he was carried to Dominique ; 
and thence to Natchez, where he was sold to Colonel Fos- 
ter. About sixteen or eighteen years after this transaction, 
as the Prince was selling sweet potatoes in Washington, a 
neighboring town, he met the Doctor Cox who had been 
his old acquaintance in Africa, and an inmate of his dwel- 
ling at Teembo ; and who immediately recognized him. 
The Doctor, in the fulness of his gratitude to the Prince, 
went to Col. Foster, and offered him one thousand dollars 
23 



546 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

as a ransom for the Prince ; but Foster valued him so highly 
for the salutary influence he exerted over the slaves, that 
he rejected this proposal. But such intreaties were made 
by a son of Dr. Cox, and others, that Col. Rahhahman and 
his wife received their Ireedom in the spring of 1828. The 
Prince, having been born in 1760, was now about sixty-six 
years of age ; forty of which he had passed in bondage. 
His character was remarkably exemplary. When he visited 
New York and the other northern Atlantic cities, he brought 
with him letters of recommendation from Mr. Clay and 
other distinguished gentlemen who had cultivated his ac- 
quaintance. He became a member of the Baptist church 
during the year previous to his manumission. The Prince 
embarked with his wife on board the Harriet, which left 
Hampton Roads in January, 1829, for Liberia ; and he ar- 
rived at Monrovia in Africa, with his wife. May 5th, 1829; 
and died on the 9th of the same month, with a Liberia 
seasoning fever. 

The city of Timbuctoo is situated in the middle of Affi" 
ca ; and has been the object of the European's curiosity for 
many years. The slave-traders from the North, East, and 
West, have spoken of it, and their accounts have been 
rather marvellous. Several travellers have attempted ^to 
reach it, but none have been able to get so far ; and some 
have sacrificed their lives to the difficulties of the journey. 
The Prince Abduhl describes the city as surrounded by 
large and high walls. The government maintains a stand- 
ing army ; and the people are well advised in arts and 
sciences. 

Honor to the memory of Abduhl, and peace to his ashes. 
His honesty and humanity, the " noblest work of God." 
He was man's victim, but nature's nobleman. 

"The palm's rich nectar, and lie down at eve 

In the green pastures of remembered days, 

And walk — to wander and to weep no more — 

On Congo's mountain-coast, or Gambia's golden shore." 



HISTORY OF THE PROPHETS. 347 



CHAPTER XI. 



HISTORY OF THE PROPHETS. 



The ancient prophets whom God in his wisdom chose 
from the different nations and tribes to prophesy unto the 
people his word, and teach them his commands. *' E'or the 
Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the 
midst of thee, of thy brethren." (Deut. xviii. 15.) 

The term prophecy was regarded as under the direction 
of the Holy Spirit. So it is said that Judas and Silas were 
prophets; and in Acts xiii. 1, that there were in the church 
at Antioch certain prophets and teachers. 

Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel, are called the 
greater prophets, from the size of their books, and the ex- 
tent and importance of their prophecies. The others are 
called the minor or lesser prophets. 

The supposed chronological arrangement of the prophe- 
cies, and the order in which they may be most intelligibly 
read, is as follows : 

Jonah - - - - B. C. 856—784 
Amos - - - - ' - - 810—785 
Hosea - - . » = 810-725 

Isaiah ---.-. 810—698 
Joel .... - 810—660 

Micah ---... 758—699 
Nahum . . - » . 720—698 

Zephaniah - - - - » 640— 609 
Jeremiah .... - 628—586 

Habakkuk . - - - - 612—598 
Daniel . . . « = 606—534 

Obadiah ----- 588—583 
Ezekiel - - - - ~ 595—536 

Haggai . . „ . - 620—518 
Zechariah . . - - 520—518 

Malachi 436—420 



348 LIGHT AND TRUTH, 

The Prophet Noah. — Noah, the son of Lamech, wa& 
a prophet of the antediluvian world. A knowledge of the 
deluge was made known to him about 120 years before the 
flood. He was a just man and a faithful preacher of righteous- 
ness. He warned the people of their destruction by a flood, 
God commanded Noah to build the ark, or great ship, and 
Ham, a mighty man, helped to build the ark at God's com- 
mand. The posterity of Noah who inhabited the earth 
after the flood, were a colored people, and their language 
was Hebrew. [See the Historical books of the ancients.] 
This language was originally given to man by his Creator, 
and afterwards broken into a multitude of tongues at Babel. 
The Hebrew, it is almost certain, was the langu nge of 
Adam and Eve, and it is certain their complexion was black, 
or dark red. Their country was called the land of Ethio- 
pia. (Gen. ii. 13.) 

Abraham. — The prophet Abraham, the son of Terab. 
The Lord God called Abraham about 1921, B. C. He was 
75 years old, and the tenth lineal descendant from §hem, 
born in Chaldea, the land of Nimrod. He was a faithful 
preacher of righteousness, and a father of many nations. 

Lot. — Righteous Lot, the son of Haran, Abraham's 
brother's son, who prayed for his brethren of Sodom and 
Gomorrah, in the border of Canaan, a wicked people of 
a black complexion, whom the Lord threatened he would 
destroy, and their cities, for their wickedness, for their 
transgressions had come up before him. The angel made 
known the will of the Lord to Lot, for him and his family 
to escape from the city; and Lot spake unto his sons-in- 
law to flee for their lives, for the Lord would destroy their 
city ; but they mocked and obeyed him not, and perished 
in the flames of fire that were rained down from the clouds 
upon all the inhabitants except Lot, his wife, and two daugh- 
ters, who fled unto the mountain. Lot's wife looked back, 
and became a pillar of salt, for disobeying the command of 
God, but Lot with his daughters entered into Zoar, and 
from there into the mountains of Arabia, and dwelt in a 
cave. 

There was no man in these mountains but Lot, that his 
dauo-hters miorht be married, and bear seed. Now the 
daughters of Lot made their father drink wine, and they 
lay with him, and he perceived it not when they lay down 



, HISTORY OF THE PROPHETS. 349 

nor when they rose up. Thus were both of the daughters 
of Lot with child by their father. The first born bore a 
son, and she called his name Moab, tlie father of the IVIo- 
abites, who inhabited the land of Moab. And the younger 
bore a son, and she called his name Ben-ammi, the father 
of the Ammonites, who inhabited the land of Ammon. 
(Gen. xix., Ruth iv., 1 Kings xi. 1.) 

Moses. — The prophet Moses, the son of Amram, a He- 
brew of the tribe of Levi, a prophet of Egypt, and a leader 
of the Israelites. lie wrote five Books, viz., Genesis, Ex- 
odus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, [called the 
Books of Moses,] in the land of Midian and Moab. The 
Law of God delivered by Moses unto the tribes of Israel. 
And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writ- 
ing the words of this law in a book, until they were finished, 
that Moses commanded the Levites, which bore the ark of 
the covenant of the Lord, saying, take this book of the law, 
and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the 
Lord your God, that it may be there for a witness against 
thee. (Deut. xxxi. 24—26.) 

And Moses led the Israelites forty years in the wilder- 
ness, and died about 1447 years B. ('., on mount Flor, in 
the sight of Canaan. (Gen., Exod., Num. xxvi. 59.) 

The prophet Oieodemus, who was also called Malchus, 
wrote a history of the Jews, in agreement with the history 
of Moses, their legislator. 

Joshua. — The prophet Joshua, the son of Nun. The 
Lord appointed Joshua to succeed Moses, and he should 
lead the people into the promised land, the land of Canaan, 
of wine and honey. Joshua led Israel and conquered many 
nations. Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the 
• son of Zerah, the son of Judah, of the tribe of Israel. This 
Ethiopian transgressed against the law of God, written by 
Moses, and he was stoned to death in the valley of Achor, 
by the Israelites. (Joshua vii., 2 Chron. xiv. 9.) 

Aaron is called the prophet of Moses, (Ex. vii. 1,) be- 
cause he declared the communications of Moses to the 
people. 

The Book of Judges forms an important part in the his- 
tory of Israel ; and independently of the ample proofs of its 
authenticity, found in its style, and in its being quoted by 
both Old and New Testament writers, the transactions it 



350 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

records are confirmed by traditions current among the hea- 
then. Thus we find the memorial of Gideon's transactions 
preserved by Sanchoniatho. 

The Book of Ruth is thought to have been written by 
Samuel, and forms a sort of a^ppendix to the book of Judges. 
The principal scope of the book is to record the genealogy 
of Christ in David's line. Compare Ruth iv. 18 — 22, with 
Matt. i. 5,6. The adoption of Ruth, a heathen, converted 
to Judaism. 

Samuel. — The prophet Samuel, the son of Elkanah, an 
Ephrathite, the descendant of Egypt. He was dedicated 
to the Lord from his birth, and brought up in the temple, 
under the care of Eli, the high priest. Samuel was com- 
manded by the Lord to take a vial of oil and pour it upon 
the head of Saul, and anoint him king over Israel ; and he 
did so. But Saul was rejected from v^igning over Israel 
for his wickedness ; and the Lord said unto Samuel, fill 
thine horns with oil, and anoint David, the son of that 
Ephrathite of Bethlehem-judah, whose name was Jesse, 
king of Israel ; and he did so. (1st and 2d Samuel.) Sam- 
uel anointed Saul, 1117 B. C. 

Esther the Queen. — Hadassah, or Esther, the daugh- 
ter of Abihail, and cousin of Mordecai, the Jew. Ahasu- 
erus, the king, who reigned from India (or Abyssinia) into 
Ethiopia, over a hundred and seven and twenty provinces 
in Africa. He loved Esther above all the women in his 
kingdom, and she obtained grace and favor in his sight 
more than all the virgins ; so he married her, set the royal 
crown upon her head, and made her Clueen about 467 
years B. C. 

Haman. — Haman, an Agagite, of the race of the Amale- 
kites, the descendants of Ham, a great favorite of king 
Ahasuerus, offended at Mordecai because he falls not down 
and adores him, as others do, resolves to be revenged of the 
whole nation of the Jews. Haman obtains an edict from 
the king that all Jews, without respect to sex or age, upon 
the I3th day of the month Adar, be put to death in all the 
provinces of the king's domains. Hereupon, Mordecai, 
Esther, and all the Jews, humble themselves before the 
Lord, by fasting and prayer ; three days and nights did 
they neither eat nor drink. Esther entertaining the king and 
Haman at a banquet, maketh suit for her own life and her 



HISTORY OF THE PROPHETS, 351 

people's and accuseth Maman. The king understanding it, 
siie obtained favor of him ; then the king's decree was re- 
versed, and the enemies of the Jews were destroyed by an 
edict from the king, throughout the provinces of Abyssinia, 
ancient Ethiopia. (Map of Africa. Book of Esther.) 

Job. — Job, a perfect, blameless and holy man, who lived 
about 1500 years B. C. The words of Job to his friends : 
** My skin is black upon me." (Job xxx. 30.) Thus he 
speaks of himself, for he was an Arabian shepherd, who 
dwelt in the land of Uz,* with seven thousand sheep, three 
thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred 
she asses, and a very great household. There were born 
unto him seven sons and three daughters. He was a per- 
fect and upright man, and there was a day when his sons 
and dauo-hters were eatinor and drinkino* wine in their eldest 
brother's house, and behold there came a great wind from 
the wilderness and tmote the four corners of the house, and 
it fell upon them, and they died. The Sabeans, the de- 
scendants of Cush, fell upon Job's servants with the edge 
of the sword and slew them, and drove away his oxen and 
asses with them. The Chaldeans [Ethiopians] made out 
three bands, and fell upon the camels, and carried them 
away and slew his servants. There were four messengers 
who came unto Job and told him, saying they only escaped 
alone to tell him ; great was the affliction of Job, but he 
complained not against God, so the Lord blessed the latter 
end of Job, more than his beginning, for he had fourteen 
thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand 
yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses. He had also seven 
sons and three daughters. 

David. — The Psalm of David constitute the nineteenth 
in the order of the books of the Old Testament, and their 
right to a place in the canon has never been disputed. They 
consist of inspired hymns and songs, meditations and pray- 
ers, chiefly of David. It is supposed they were collected 
into one book by Ezra, though without any regard to chron- 
ological order. They are a complete and perfect manual 
of devotional exercises ; anJ there is scarcely a grief or 
disease of the soul, for which there is not in this divine 



* The Book of Job. Calmet and others make Uz, his country, to have 
been Arabia Deserta. 



352 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

book a present comfortable remedy always to be found by 
those who rightly seek rt. 

They are sometimes called The Psalter, from the psal- 
tery, a musical instrument used to accompany them when 
sung. 

The titles of the Psalms sometimes have reference to a 
choice of tunes, or instruments, or contain some directions 
to persons appointed to set them to music, or to the leaders 
of the choir, or something peculiar in the subject, season, 
or style of the composition. The conjectures as to their 
meaning are various. 

This book was once published in five parts, each con- 
cluding with a doxology, viz. i. — xli. ; xlii. — Ixxii ; Ixxiii. 
— Ixxxix. ; xc. — cvi. : cvii. — cl.; but it is cited as one 
book, in Lnke xx. 42. 

The original collection woiild seem to have comprised 
psalms i. — Ixxii. [See the subscription, Ps. fxxii. 20. And 
for a chronological arrangement of the Psalms, with the 
occasion which led to the composition of them, see Life of 
David, by Am. S. S. Union, pp. 27:^—275.] 

Solomon, — The Song of Solomon, the wise man. The 
words of Solomon, the son of David, to his friends : '* I am 
black, but comely, [graceful] oh ye daughters of Jerugalem. 
Look not upon me because 1 am black as the tents of Ke- 
dar, as the curtains of Solomon." Here Solomon describes 
his color to be as. beautiful as the tents of Kedar, whose 
tents were made of black goat's hair; also travellers tell us 
camel's hair was used for the covering of tents; that ap- 
pear beautifully to the distant traveller ; so was Solomon to 
Israel, " as the curtains of Solomon." There was a shel- 
ter, a cover from injury, or cave, in Arabia, where the 
shepherds with their flocks at night, fled for protection. So 
did Lsrael and all the kings of that country flee unto Solo- 
mon for wisdom and knovvledore. 

Solomon's history is full of interest, and amply given in 
Scripture. He was the author of several books, besides 
those in the Bible, viz. 3000 Proverbs, 1005 Songs. 

Ecclesiastes, or [as the name signifies,] the Preacher, is 
the twenty-first in the order of the books of the Old Testa- 
ment, and was written by Solomon, besides works on bot- 
any, and commerce. 

We are told of the book of the acts of Solomon, ( 1 Kings 



HISTORY OF THE PROPHETS. 353 

V 

xi. 41, and elsewhere,) that his acts were written in the 
book of Nathan, the prophecy of Ahijnh, and the visions of 
Iddo against Jeroboam, (2 Chron. ix. 29;) but no other 
knowledge of these books has come down to us ; and per- 
haps they were chiefly genealogical, and were destroyed 
with other Jewish writings in the frequent revolutions of 
the country. 

Solomon was anointed king of all Israel, according to 
Newton, 1019 B. C, and he died in the year of the world 
3029. 

Isaiah, the prophet, the son of Amos, was an Ethio- 
pian, who prophesied unto Egypt and Ethiopia. As God 
commanded him, saying, Go and loose the sackcloth from 
off thy loins, and put off thy shoes from thy feet, walk 
naked and barefoot, he did so, three years, for a sign 
and a wonder unto Egypt and Ethiopia, preaching unto 
his brethren the word of God; but they obeyed not the 
word of the Lord by the mouth of the prophet; and were 
led away, young and old, naked and barefoot, into cap- 
tivity. (Isa. 20.) As they were black, so was he; as 
he was naked, so were they. Led naked and barefoot, 
young and old, into captivity! Even unto this day, from 
Africa, their descendants are led away, by a wicked 
people, into slavery. But it shall come to pass that the 
Lord shall set his hand again, the second time, to recover 
the remnant of his people which shall be left, from 
Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Gush, from 
Shinar or Chaldea, from Elam, from Hamath, and from 
the Islands of the Sea, the Lord shall set up an ensign 
for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, 
and gather together the dispersed of Judah, from the 
four corners of the earth. (Isa. IL) Whom the Lord 
of hosts shall bless, saying, blessed be Egypt, my people, 
and Assyria, the works of my hands, and Israel mine 
inheritance. (Isa. 19.) For they shall cry unto the 
Lord, because of the oppressors, and he shall send them 
a Savior and a great one, and he shall deliver them. 
(Isa. xix. 20.) The children of Judah, and the children 
of Egypt and Ethiopia, ye have sold. Behold, I will 
raise them out of the place whither ye have sold them, 
and will return your recompense upon your own heads. 
(Joel iii. 7.) And they shall take them captive whose 



' '354 . LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

captives they were, and they shall rule over their op- 
pressors. And it shall come to pass in that day that the 
Lord shall give thee rest from thy sorrow and from thy 
fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made 
to serve. (Isa. xiv. 2.) ' 

Isaiah began to prophesy 760 years B. C. 
Jeremiah, the prophet, was the son Hilkiah. The 
words of Jeremiah to his friends; thus saith the prophet, 
chap. viii. 21 : " I am black." Here he describes himself 
to be black. Lamentation v. 10. " Our skin was black 
like an oven;" here he describes his people, "They are 
black unto (or on) the ground, mourning because of the 
*• terrible famine." (Jer. xiv.) "Our necks are under 
-'■'persecution, we labor and have no rest: we have given 
the hand to the Egyptians and to the Assyrians, to be 
satisfied with bread." 

The princes of Judah and Jerusalem assembled at the 
king's house, in the scribe's chamber, to counsel against 
the prophet Jeremiah. And Jehudi, the son of Netha- 
niah, the son of Sheleraiah, the son of Cushi, and Deba- 
iah the son of Shemiah, and Jedediah the son of Pashur, 
and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashur the son of 
Malchiah, and others, heard the words that Jeremiah 
had spoken unto all the people, saying, "Thus saith the 
Lord, he that remaineth in this city shalldie by the 
• sword, the famine, and the pestilence; but he that goeth 
forth to the Chaldeans (Ethiopians) shall live, for he 
•shall have his life saved; but this city shall surely be 
given into the hands ol the King of Babylon's army, 
which shall take it." 

The princes said unto Zedekiah, the King, "We be- 
seech thee, let this man, the prophet, be put to death." 
The king said, "Behold, he is in your hands." Then 
;^took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon, or 
^^it, and they let him down with cord, into the dungeon, 
and there was no water, but mire; so Jeremiah sunk in 
the mire. And when Ebed-melech, the Ethiopian, one 
of the eunuchs which was in the king's house, heard that 
they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon, he spake to Zede- 
kiah, the king, saying. My Lord, O king, these men 
have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah, 
the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon, and 



HISTORY OF THE PROPHETS. B55 

he is like to die for hunger. Then Zedekiah, the king, 
commanded Ebed-melech, saying, Take from hence [or 
this place] thirty men; away with thee, and take up 
Jeremiah, the prophet, out of the dungeon before he die. 
And they drew up Jeremiah with cords, up out of the 
dungeon. (Jer., chap. 37, 38 and 39.) Jeremiah hegan 
to prophesy 631 years B. C. ' 

Daniel.— The prophet Daniel, the son of David, a 
wise man, who w^as surnamed Belteshazzar, by the king. 
He was carried captive to Babylon, in the fourth year of 
Jehoiakim, by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. Dan- 
iel was enabled by God to interpret a remarkable dream 
of the king's, in which was made known to him the fate 
of his kingdom in after-times; and was exalted by him to 
great power and dignity, Daniel also explained for Bel- 
shazzar, the king of Babylon, the grandson of Nebu- 
chadnezzar, the hand-writing legibly traced upon the 
wall by a miruculous hand: Mene, mene, tekel uphar- 
sin; which none of the wise men being able to interpret, 
thus spake Daniel to the king, saying, " Thy days are 
numbered; thou art weighed in the balance and found 
wanting; thy kingdom is given to the Medes, and Per- 
sians," Accordingly, that very night, the city was taken 
by Darius the Mede, [the son of Ahasuerus, an Ethio- 
pian,] and Belshazzar slain, Daniel was highly esteem- 
ed by Darius, who made him first president of the king- 
dom, for his excellent spirit. This exaltation gave great 
offence to the princes, goveiynors, counsellors, and cap- 
tains of the realm, who, being unable to make any just 
accusation against him, prevailed upon the king Darius 
to sign a rash decree, that whoever should offer any 
prayer or petition to either God or man, for the space of 
thirty days, [excepting the king] they should be cast into 
the den of lions. 

The enemies of Daniel observing that as usual he ad- 
dressed his petitions to God, accused him, and insisted 
upon his incurring the penalty; but the Almighty pre- 
served his faithful servant, and, to the great joy of the 
king, Daniel came unhurt out of the lion's den, into 
which his accusers were cast, and instantly torn to 
pieces. Daniel prophesied about 555 years B. C. 

Hosea. — The prophet Hosea was the son of Beeri. 



556 



LIGHT AND TRUTH. 



The word of the Lord came unto him in the days of Uz- 
ziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, king of Judah and 
m the days of Jeroboam, king of Israel; and he prophe- 
sied agamvst the people and their cities, for their idolatry 
about 785 years B. C. ^' 

Joel.— The prophet Joel was the son of Pethuel. 
Ihe word of the Lord came to him to prophesy of the 
judgments of God against the enemies, of his people 
ab()ut 800 years B. C. He prophesied the desolation of 
Judah by the Chaldeans. 

Amos.— The prophet Amos was (he son of the herdman 
of Tekoa, and father of Isaiah. The word of the Lord 
came unto him as he followed the tiock, and said unto 
him, '' Go and prophesy unto my people Israel ; publish 
It in the palaces at Ashdod and in the land of Egypt 
saying unto them, Prepare to meet thy God, O Israel! 
Are ye not as children of the Ethiopians unto me 6 
children of Israel, saith the Lord." Amos prophesied 
about 787 years B. C. ^ ^ 

Obadiah.— The prophecy of Obadiah is the thirty-first 
in the order of the books of the Old Testament. It re- 
lates to the judgments impending over Edom. Thus 
saith the Lord God concerning Edom, We have heard a 
rumor from the Lord, and an ambassador is sent amon^ 
the heathen. And saviours shall come upon mount Zion 
to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the 
Lord's. (Jer.xliv. 7— 10, and 14. Obad. i. 9.) These 

portionsofprophecyaresup^osedtohaverelationto events 
stiH future, the restoration and prosperity of the Jews. 

Jox\AH.— The prophet Jonah, the son of Amittai, lived 
in the time of Jeroboam, the king of Israel. The word 
of the Lord came unto him, snying, *' Arise, go to Nine- 
veh, that great city, and cry against it, for their wicked- 
ness IS come up before me.'' But his heart failed him, 
and he went down to Joppa, and there found a ship, and 
took his passage on board, bound to Tarshish. The 
sailors supposing him to be the occasion of a severe tem- 
pest which overtook them, threw him overboard, when 
he was immediately swallowed by a great fish; and after 
three days cast upon the shore. He then proceeded 
upon his mission. The Ninevites repented, and were 
spared, about 802 years B. C. 



HISTORY OF THE PROPHETS. 357 

MiCAH. — ^Micah, the prophet, who lived in the latter 
)jd:iys of Isaiah and Hosea. The Book of Micah is one of 
the most important prophecies in the Old Testament. 
iThe words of the Lord that came to Micah, the Moras- 
thite, a Moor, who prophesied in the reigns of Jotham, 
|iAh:HZ, and Hezekiah, kinsjs of Judah, against Judah and 
(Jerusalem. "Hear all ye people; hearken, O Earth, 
and all that therein is, and let the Lord God be witness 
|,against you, for the transgression of Jacob, is it not Sa- 
maria, and the high places of Judah, are they not Jeru- 
(Salern; therefore 1 will make Samaria as an heap of the 
()field," &c. " The inhabitant of Maroth waiteth carefully 
(for good, but evil came down from the Lord unto the 
^gate of Jerusalem." Micah prophesied of the captivity 
of the Moorish tribes, and their deliverance by Cyrus 
(the Great; also, previous to the coming of the Messiah 
(Christ, the Lord, of the " seed ot' the woman" to the line 
iof Shem, the descendants of Abraham, the tribe of Ju- 
dah, and the house of David. Micah sheds further light, 
iby designating the very place of his birth, (ch. v. 2) with 
other important circumstances of his kingdom and glory. 
I Nahum,— The prophet Nahum, the Elkoshite, was a 
native of Galilee, and prophesied, in the reign of Heze- 
kiah, against Nineveh, about 758 years B. C. " Wo to 
the bloody city, it is all full of lies and wickedness, the 
noise of the whip, and the noise of the rattling of the 
wheels, and of the prancing horses, and of the jumping 
chariots. The horsemen lifteth up both the bright sword 
and the glittering spear, and there is a multitude of 
Islain and a great number of carcases, and there is no 
end of their corpses." "Nineveh is laid waste; who 
will bemoan her; whence shall I seek comforters for 
thee." " Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength. Put 
and Lubim were thy helpers. Yet was she carried away, 
Ishe went into captivity; her young children also were 
dashed in pieces at the top of all the streets." 

Habakkuk prophesied about 609 years B. C. He 
complained of the iniquity of the land, the judgments 
upon the Chaldeans ; he saw the tents of Cushan in 
affliction. 

Zephaniah. — The prophet Zephaniah, an Ethiopian. 
Fhe word of the Lord came unto Zephaniah the son of 



S58 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

Cushi, the son of Jedediah, the son of Amariah, the son 
of Hizkiah, in the days of Josiah, the son of Amon, king 
of Judah. He exhorted the Jews to repentance, and 
predicted the destruction of cities and nations, " I will 
utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the 
Lord. Men and beasts, the fowls of the heaven, and the 
fish of the sea; I will also stretch out mine hand upon 
Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Howl 
ye inhabitants of Maktesh, for all the merchant-people 
are cut down. Gaza shall be forsaken, and Askelon a 
desolation. They shall drive out Ashdod at the noon- 
day, and Ekron shall be rooted up. Wo unto the inhab- 
itants of the sea-coast, the nation of the Cherethites, the 
word of the Lord is against you. O Canaan, the land of 
the Philistines, I will even destroy thee. Therefore, as 
I live, saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, surely 
Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as 
Gomorrah. Ye Ethiopians, ye shall be slain by the 
sword. And he will stretch out his hand against the 
North and destroy Assyria, and will make Nineveh a 
desolation." Zephaniah prophesied 630 years B. C. 

Haggai.— Haggai, the first of the three prophets who 
flourished after the Jewish captivity, in the second year 
of Darius Hystaspes, about 520 years B. C. He was 
born in Chaldea, and began his public work of prophesy- 
ing about seventeen years after the return from Babylon. 
He, together with Zechariah, excited and encouraged 
the Jews to finish the temple, assuring them that Messiah 
should appear in the flesh, teach in the courts of the new 
temple, and render it more glorious than the first. (Ezra 
V. i. 2; Haggai i. and ii.; Zech. iv.) 

Zechariah. — The prophet Zechariah, who is expressly 
called the son of Barachiah, (Zech. i. 1,) was one of the 
minor prophets who returned from Babylon, with Zerub- 
babel, and began to prophesy about two months after 
Haggai. He and Haggai zealously encouraged the 
Jews to rebuild the temple and city, the work on which 
had been suspended for several years. He wrote the 
book which bears his name, and has been called the 
chief of the minor prophets. 

Iddo. — Iddo, a prophet of Judah, who seems to have 
been the historian of his day, and whose record and gen- 



HISTORY OF THE PROPHETS. 359 

ealogies are mentioned in Scripture. 2 Chron. ix. 29, 
and xii. 15. His writings never made a part of the canon 
of the Old Testament. Indeed, had every thing done or 
said by holy men, according to the vv'ili of God, been in- 
serted in the Bible, it would have made the book too 
large to be useful. Josephus is of opinion that this was 
the prophet sent to Jeroboam at Bethel, and slain by a 
Hon on his return. 1 Kings xiii. Whether he was the 
grandfather of Zechariah, is uncertain. Zech, i. L 
There were several other persons of this name. 1 Chr. 
xxvii. 21; Ezra viii. 17. 

Malachi.—- The prophet Malachi wrote his book, which 
was the end of vision and prophecy, 397 years B. C. 
He. lived in the reign of Artaxerxes, the king of Persia, 
and prophesied the coming of John the Baptist, under 
the name of Elias, and was the last of the prophets of the 
Old Testament. He flourished after the rebuilding of 
Jerusalem and the temple by Nehemiah, and was cotem- 
porary with Plato, the philosopher; Cimon, the Athenian 
general; Amyrtaeus, king of Egypt, and Darius Nothus, 
king of Persia. With him, the prophetical office seems 
to have ceased for nearly 400 years; that is, till Messiah 
came. About 40 years after the delivery of his prophecy 
was born Aristotle, the philosopher. 

Prophetess, — (Ex. xv. 20.) Prophetess signifies not 
only the wife of a prophet, (Isa. viii. 3,) but also a woman 
that has the gift of prophecy. Among these were Mir- 
iam, Deborah, Hannah, and Anna. 

Miriam led the concert (Ex. xv. 20, 21) that she i» 
reckoned as a prophetess. 

Philip, the evanajelist, had four daughters, virgins, 
which did prophesy. (Acts xxi. 9.) 

The apostles and prophets: Jesus Christ himself being 
the chief corner stone. (Eph. ii. 20; Rev. xviii. 20.) 

The names of the books that were written on skin- 
parchment, which are not recorded in the Bible, were 
written by these prophets, viz : 

The Book of Nathan the prophet. 

The Book of Gad the seer or prophet. (1 Chr. 29: 29.) 

The Book of Jasher. (2 Sam. 1: 18.) 

The Book of Shemaiah the prophet. 

The Book of Iddo the seer or prophet. (2 Chron, 
12: 15, &c.) 



360 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

There was a prophet for every tribe and nation under 
heaven, to prophesy to them the word of God. 

THE SHEPHERDS OF ANTIUUITY, 

Abel, the son of Adam, was the first shepherd, a 
keeper of sheep, a righteous man. 

The Ethiopian shepherds nf Egypt and Chaldea first 
acquired a knowledge of the stars, while guardiiig their 
flocks by ni2;ht. Their employment led them to contem- 
plate the stars. While their flocks, in the silence of the 
night, were enjoying sweet repose, the spangled sky 
would naturally invite the attention of the shepherds. 
The observation of the heavenly bodies afforded them 
amusement, and, at the same time, assisted them in trav- 
elling in the night. A star guided the shepherds to the 
manger where our blessed Saviour was born. By the 
aid of a lively imagination, they distributed the stars into 
a number of constellations, or companies, of which they 
gave the names of the animals which they represented; 
and from them we have received the science of astron- 
omy. 

The Canaanites or Phcenicians were shepherds ; the 
Cushans or Samarians were shepherds ; the Syrians 
were shepherds ; the inhabitants of Lower Egypt were 
originally shepherds; and those of Upper Egypt, in the 
best of the land of Goshen or Rameses, were shepherds. 
The Arabian shepherds brought to Jehoshaphat presents 
of their flocks; seven thousand and seven hundred rams, 
and as many he-goats. The shepherds watched their 
flocks day and night, and guarded them with their dogs. 

" All the flocks ofKedar (Arabians) shall be gathtred 
together; they shall come up with acceptance on mine 
altar; and I will glorify the house (or people) of my 
glory." (Isa. 60: 7.) 

While shepherds watched their flocks by night, 

All sealed on the ground, 
The Angel of the Lord came down, 

And glory shone around. 

The prophecy of Christy the Good Shepherd. — ''And 
there were in the country of Canaan, called Judea, 
shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their 



HISTORY OF THE PROPHETS. 361 

flocks by night; and lo! the Angel of the Lord came up- 
on them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about 
them, and they were sore afraid; and the angel said unto 
them. Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of 
great joy which shall be to all people, for unto you is 
born this day, in the city of David, a Savior, which is 
Christ the Lord. For thus it is written by the prophet 
in Bethlehem, in the land of Judea, (or Canaan,) art not 
thou the least among the princes of Judea : for out of thee 
shall come a Governor that shall rule my people Israel; 
and this shall be a sign unto you: ye shall find the babe 
wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger; and 
suddenly there was with the angel Gabriel a multitude of 
the heavenly host (a great number) praising God, and 
saying. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, 
good will toward men. And it came to pass as the an- 
gels were gone away from them into heaven, the shep- 
herds said one to another, Let us now go even unto 
Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, 
which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they 
came with haste, and found Mary and Joseph with the 
babe lying in a manger; and when they had seen it they 
made known abroad the saying which was told them con- 
cerning the child, and all that heard it wondered at those 
things which were told them by the shepherds, and the 
shepherds returned (home) glorifying and praising God 
in the highest, for all these things that they had heard 
and seen, as it was told them by the angels, of the birth 
of the Messiah the Shepherd of Israel, who would lead 
his people as a flock." (Matthew, Luke, and John.) 

" The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He 
maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me 
beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he lead- 
eth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of 
death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod 
and thy staff" they comfort me. Thou preparest a table 
before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anoint- 
est my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely 
goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my 
life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever." 
(Psalm xxiii.) 

24 



362 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

The Command and Law of God. — " Ye fathers! bring 
up your children in the nurture and admonition of the 
Lord." (Eph. vi. 4 ) 

" And if a strajiger sojourn with thee in your land, ye 
shall not vex him. But the stranger that dwelleth with 
you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou 
shalt love him as thyself." (Lev. xix. 23.) 

" Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is 
well pleasing unto the Lord." (Cor. iii. 20.) 

" Honor ihy father and thy mother." (Ex. xx. 12. 
Eph. vi. 1.) 

" The law is not made for a righteous man, but for the 
lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for 
the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and 
murderers of mothers, for man-slayers, for whore-mon- 
gers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for 
MANSTEALERs." (1 Tim. i. 9, 10.) 

" Thou shalt not steal." (Exodus xxi. 16.) " He that 
stealeth a man and selleth him, or if he be found in his 
hand, he shall siirely be put to death." (Exodus xx. 15.) 

" Masters give unto your servants that which is just 
and equal." (Col. iv. 1.) 

" Wo unto you lawyers! for ye have taken away the 
"^ey of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and 
them that were entering in ye hindered." (Luke xi. 52.) 

" Behold ! the hire of the laborers who have reaped 
down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, 
crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are en- 
tered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth." (Jas. v. 4.) 

"Parents, bring up your children to obey and honor 
you." 

It is a truth — you'll find it so — 

As the twig is bent, the tree will grow ! 



THE GENERATION OF JESUS CHRIST. 

Mary, the mother of our Lord, was the daughter of 
Eli, or Joachim, of the family of David. 

Shem, the second son of Noah, was born A. M. 1558, 
about 93 years before the deluge, from whom descended 
the Jews, and through them the Messiah. He had five 



HISTORY OF THE PROPHETS. 363 

sons, who peopled the finest provinces of the East. The 
languages of these nations are still called the Shemitish 
languages, including the Hebrew, Chaldee, Syriac, 
Arabic, Ethiopic, &c. 

Abram, Abraham, (Gen. xi. 27,) was the son of Te- 
rah, and was born at Ur, a city of Chaldea, in the begin- 
ning of the kingdom of Nimrod. (Gen. x. 10.) Abram 
left Ur, and removed to the land of Canaan. He re- 
mained at Haran. 

Sarah, "or Sarai, (Gen. xi. 31,) was the sister-in-law 
and wife of Abraham. 

Isaac, (Gen. xxi. 3,) the son of Abraham and Sarah, 
was born A. M. 2108, in Canaan. Isaac, at the age of 
40, married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel, the sis- 
ter of Laban, and begat Jacob. 

Jacob, the second son of Isaac, and founder of the 
Jewish nation, was born A. M.. 2167, and married Leah, 
(Gen. xxix. 16,) the daughter of Laban, the Syrian, and 
begat Judah, He removed to Egypt, with his family, at 
the request of Joseph, and died, after having dwelt in 
Goshen 17 years. 

Amorites, (Gen. x. 16,) a Syrian tribe descended 
from Canaan, and among the most formidable of the 
tribes. They were of gigantic stature and great courage, 
(Amos ii. 9,) and inhabited one of the most fertile dis- 
tricts of the country, being bounded on three sides by 
the rivers Arnon, Jabbok, and Jordan. The Israelites 
asked permission of their king to travel through their 
territory. 

Judah, (Gen. xxix. 35,) the fourth son of Jacob and 
Leah, was born in Mesopotamia about A. M. 2249, and 
married the daughter of Shuah, or Shua, the Canaanitess, 
one of the posterity of Ham. The sons of Judah which 
were born unto him, were three, by the daughter of 
Shuah, Er, Onan, and Shelah. 

" And Judah took a wife for Er, his first born, whose 
name was Tamar; and Er marrieth Tamar. 

And Er, Judah's first-born, was wicked in the sight of 
the Lord; and the Lord slew him. 

And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thv brother's 
wife and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother. 

And Onan knew that the seed should not be his. 



364 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

And the thing which he did displeased the Lord ; 
wherefore he slew him also. 

Then said Judah to Tamar, his daughter-in-law, Re- 
main a widow at thy father's house till Sbelah my son be 
grown; for he said, Lest peradventure he die also, as his 
brethren did. And Tamar went and dwelt in her father's 
house. 

Judah acknowledged to Tamar, and said. She hath 
been more righteous than I; because that I gave her not 
to Shelah my son. 

And Judah begat Phares, or Pharez, of Tamar, his 
daughter-in-law. (Gen. xxxviii. 1 Chron. ii.) 

And Pares begat Esrom, and Esrom begat Aram, and 
Aram begat Aminadab, and Aminadab begat Naasson, 
and Naasson begat Salmon, and Salmon begat Booz of 
Rachab. (Matt, i.) 

Rechab, Rechabites. (Jer. xxxv. 16, 18.) The Re^ 
chabites were a tribe of Kenites, or Midianites. " The 
Kenites that came of Hemath, the father of the house of 
Rechab." (1 Chron. ii. 55.) 

Hamathites, the descendants of Ham, are mentioned 
as having once occupied the southern border of the prov- 
ince of Canaan. (1 Chron. iv. 40.) They were people 
of color. 

The word house is used to denote a family, (Gen. xii. 
17, 1 Tim. V. 8,) a race, or lineage, (Luke ii. 4, 1 Kings 
xiii. 8.) 

Kenites, (1 Sam. xv. 6.) descended from Jonadab, or 
Jehonadab, the son or descendant' of Rechab, (2 Kings x. 
15,) from which last they derive their name. (Comp. Num. 
X. 29 — 32, with Judges i. 16, and iv. 11.) Jonadab appears 
to have been zealous for the pure worship of God, and was 
associated with Jehu in the destruction of the idolatrous 
house of Ahab. He establishe'd a rule for his posterity, 
that they should possess neither land nor houses, but should 
live in tents, and should drink no wine or strong drink. In 
obedience to this rule, the Rechabites continued a separate 
but peaceable people, living in tents, and removing from 
place to place, as circumstances required. When Judea 
was first invaded by Nebuchadnezzar they fled to Jerusa- 
lem for safety, where it pleased God, by the prophet Jere- 
miah, to exhibit them to the wicked inhabitants of Jerusa- 



HISTORY OF THE PROPHETS. 365 

lem, as an example of constancy in their obedience to the 
mandates of an earthly father. (Jer. xxxv, 2 — 19.) 

Some highly interesting facts are known respecting the 
present condition of the Rechabites. They still dwell in 
the mountainous tropical country to the northeast of Me- 
dina. They are called Beni Khaior, sons of Ileber ; and 
their land is called Khaibr. They have no intercourse with 
their brethren, the Jews, who are dispersed over Asia ; and 
are esteemed as false brethren, because they observe not 
the law. These persons cannot accompany a caravan, be- 
cause their religion permits them not to travel on the Sab- 
bath ; yet their country is so surrounded by deserts, that 
unless in a caravan, it can neither be entered or left safely. 

A late traveller inquired of a Jew about them, and 
whether they ever came to Jerusalem ; and the Jew proved, 
that they came to that city in the time of Jeremiah, by 
reading ch. xxxv. of his prophecy. This Jew stated that 
these persons, who were unquestionably the descendants of 
the Rechabites, are now known to drink no wine ; to have 
neither vineyards, field, nor seed ; and to be wandering no- 
mades, dwelling like Arabs in tents; and they have never 
wanted a man to stand before the Lord, but have maintained 
strictly and constantly the worship of the true God. (Josh. 
vi. 17 — 25.) The faith of Rahab is commended, (Heb. xi. 
31 ; James ii. 25 ;) and it is supposed she married into a 
noble family of the tribe of Judah. (Matt. i. 5.) The term 
Rahab is used poetically as descriptive of Egypt, in Ps. 
Ixxxvii. 4 ; Ixxxix. 10 ; Isa. li. 9. 

Naomi and her husband Elimelech retired to the land of 
Moab, because of a famine in Canaan, where their two sons 
married — Chilion, Orpah, and Mahlon, Ruth. After about 
ten years, Elimelech and his sons died without leaving any 
children, and Naomi, Ruth's mother-in-law, returned home 
to the land of Canaan, where Ruth, one of the ancestors of 
our Saviour, married Boaz, who lived in the days of Gid- 
eon, about 300 years before Homer flourished. 

Boaz, or Booz, married Ruth, (Ruth i. 4,) a Moabitish 
woman, and begat Obed, and through Boaz is traced the 
regular succession of Jewish Kings. (Matt. i. 5.) Boaz 
was a man of wealth, and of great respectability ; and, from 
his conduct towards his poor kinswoman, Ruth, we sup- 



366 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

pose him to have beera a man of strict integrity, and of an 
estimable character, as she soon found favor in the eyes of 
a liinsman, whom she afterwards married, by which event 
she became the ancestor of the royal family of David. And 
Obed beget Jesse. 

Jesse, (I Chron. ii 13.) The son of Obed, and father 
of David. Hence he is called the root of David; and the 
ancestor of the Messiah. (Isa. xi. 1, 10.) Christ describes 
himself as the root and the offspring of David, (Rev. v. 5 ; 
xxii. 16,) in reference to his two-fold nature ; in one of 
which, he was the Creator and the source of all being, 
(John i. 3,) and in the other, he was born of a woman of a 
descendant of the family of David. (Matt. i. 5- — 16.) 

David (1 Sam. xvi, 13,) was the son of Jesse, of the tribe 
of Judah. He was born in Bethlehem, B. C. 1085, and was, 
both in his prophetical and regal character, an eminent 
type of the Messiah. David was a "ruddy" complexion, a 
dark red. (1 Sam. xvii. 42.) While he was employed as a 
shepherd in his father's fields, God sent Samuel to Bethle- 
hem, with instructions to anoint David as king of Israel, in 
the place of Saul, who had incurred the divine displeasure, 
and was therefore to be deposed. He was then about twen- 
ty-two years old. He did not succeed at once to the throne, 
but first became Saul's armour-bearer. (1 Sam. xvi. 14— 
23.) Then he retired to Bethlehem, but soon appeared as 
the champion of the Israelites, against Goliath, a famous 
giant of the Philistines, whom he slew. (1 Sam. xvii.) 
This victory greatly advanced his reputation, and secured 
him a high place in the court and camp of the king. In 
this situation, he formed a friendship with Jonathan, the 
king's son, which is memorable for its strength and sacred- 
ness. (1 Sam. xviii. 1 — 5.) 

David the king, begat Solomon of Bathsheba, the daugh^ 
ter of Eliam, of her that had been the wife of Uriah the 
Hittite. (2 Sam. xi. and xii.) 

HiTTiTEs, (I Kings xi. 1.) The posterity of Heth, the 
second son of Canaan, blacks. (Herodotus.) 7'heir settle- 
ments were in the southern part of Judea, near Hebron. 
(Gen. xxiii. 3.) They are also spoken of as inhabiting the 
mountains of Judah. (Num. xiii. 29;) and again as in the 
neighborhood of Bethel. (Judg. i. 26.) Probably they 



HISTORY OF THE PROPHETS. 367 

maintained a sort of independence, (1 Kings x. 29 ; 2 Kings 
vii. 0;) and they seem to have retained their distinctive 
name to a late period. (Ezra ix. 1, 2.) 

And Solomon begat Rehoboam of Naamah, the daugh- 
ter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edom- 
ites, Zidonians, and Hittites. The testimony of history 
proves these nations colored. And Pharaoh's daughter 
came up out of the city of David unto her house, which 
Solomon had built for her. (1 Kings vii., ix., and xi.) 

Rehoboam, the son of Solomon by Pharoah's daughter, 
an Ammonitess woman, ascended the throne B. C. 970, 
being then 41 years old, and reigned 17 years. 

Roboam begat Abia, and Abia begat Asa, and Asa be- 
gat Josaphat, and Josaphat begat Joram, and Joram begat 
Ozias, and Ozias begat Joatham, and Joatham begat Achaz, 
and Achaz begat Ezekias, and Ezekias begat Manasses, 
and Manasses beget Araon, and Amon begat Josias, and 
Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time 
they were carried away to Babylon. And after they were 
brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel, and Sala- 
thiel begat Zorobabel, and Zorobabel begat Abiud, and 
Abiud begat Eliakim, and Eliakim begat Azor, and Azor 
begat Sadoc, and Sadoc begat Achim, and Achim begat 
Eliud, and Eliud begat Eleazer, and Eleazer begat Mat- 
than, and Matthan begat Jacob, and Jacob begat Joseph, 
(Matt. i. 16 — 18,) the husband of Mary, the mother of Je- 
sus, who is called Christ. 

THE BIRTH OF CHRIST. 

John the Baptist was the son of Elizabeth (cousin to 
the Virgin Mary) and Zacharias. His birth had been mi- 
raculously foretold by the angel Gabriel to Zacharias whilst 
he was officiating in the temple. 

As John was designed to be the forerunner of the Mes- 
siah, the angel informed Zacharias, that he should live 
with the austerity of a Nazarite, and act under the influ- 
ence of the Holy Spiiit of God; that he should call the 
children of Israel to repentance, and in the power of Elijah 
should prepare the world for the reception of the Messiah. 

The birth of our Savior, called the Lord Jesus Christ, 
the Messiah, the Mediator, the Redeemer of the world, took 



368 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

upon himself the human form, and was born of the Virgin 
Mary, December the 25th. According to the best author- 
ities, it may be dated 2188 years from the founding of the 
kingdom of Egypt, and 846 years from the founding of the 
city of Carthage. 

Christ, the Lord, was born in Bethlehem, in the land of 
Judea, in the city of David, (Luke ii.) they being of the 
house andjineage of David, to be registered in the chief 
city of their tribe, in the land of Canaan, the country now 
called Judea. 

Joseph, of Galilee, was the reputed father of Jesus Christ. 
(John vi. 42. ) 

Cyrenius, an Ethiopian governor of Syria, first made the 
taxing of the people. [Luke ii.] 

The treasury of Csesar Augustus, governor of Syria, be- 
ing greatly exhausted, he commanded that all his subjects, 
including the inhabitants of the conquered provinces, should 
have their names enrolled, in order to be taxed. 

And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. 
And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of 
Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which is 
called Bethlehem, (because he was of the house and lineage 
of David,) to be taxed, with Mary his espoused wife, being 
great with child. 



PERIODS, &c. 369 



CHAPTER XIII. 



PERIODS, &C. 



Period I. will extend from the creation of the world 4004 
years B. C. to the deluge 2348 B. C. ; to this period we 
give the name of antedeiuviau. 

Period II. extends from the deluge 2348 B. C. to the 
calling of Abraham, 1921 B. C. ; this is the period of Con- 
fusion of lansuaoes. 

Period III. From the calling of Abraham, 1921 B. C, 
to the Founding of Athens, 1556 B. C. ; this is the period 
of the Egyptian bondage. 

Period IV. From the Founding of Athens, 1556 B. C, 
to the Dedication of Solomon's Temple, B. C. 1004 ; this 
is the period of the Trojan war. 

Period V. From the Dedication of Solomon's Temple, 
1004 B. C, to the Founding of Rome, 752 B. C. ; this is 
the period of Homer. 

Period VI. From the Founding of Rome, 752 B. C.,to 
the War between the Greeks and Persians, 496 B. C. ; this 
is the period of the Roman kings. 

Period VII. From the War between the* Greeks and 
Persians, 496 B. C, to the Birth of Alexander, an Egyp- 
tian, 256 B. C. ; this is the period of Grecian glory. 

Period VIII. From the Birth of Alexander, 356 B. C. 
to the Destruction of Carthage, 146 B. C. ; this is the pe- 
riod of Roman military renown. 

Period IX. From the Destruction of Carthage, 146 B. C. 
to the first campaign of Julius Csesar, 80 B. C. ; this is the 
period of the Civil War between Marius and Scylla. 

Period X. From the First campaign of Julius Caesar, 
80 B. C, to the Nativity of Jesus Christ; and the com- 



370 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

mencement of the Christian era ; this is the period of Ro- 
man Literature. 

Period XI. From the Nativity of Jesus Christ, to the 
Reign of Constantine the Great, A. D. 309 ; this is the pe- 
riod of the Toleration of Christianity, which took place 
under Constantine. 

Period XII, From the Toleration of Christianity, A. D. 
306, to the Extinction of the Western empire, A. D. 476 ; 
this is the period of the Northern invasions. 

Period XIII. From the extinction of the Western em- 
pire, A. D. 476, to the flight of Mahomet the Arabian, A. 
D. 622 ; this is the period of the Justinian Code ; and of 
the wars of Belisarius. 

Period XIV. From the Flight of Mahomet, A. D. 622, 
to the Crowning of Charlemagne at Rome, A. D. 800 ; this 
is the period of the Establishment of the Moors' dominion. 



CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE, 

FROM A. D. 826 TO 1791. 

826 Harold, king of Denmark, dethroned by his sub- 
jects for being a Christian. 

828 Egbert, king of Wessex, unites the Heptarchy, 
by the name of England. 

838 The Scots and Picts have a decisive battle, in 
which the former prevail, and both kingdoms are 
united by Kenneth. 

867 The Danes began their ravages in England. 

896 Alfred the Great, after subduing the Danish in- 
vaders, (against whom he fought fifty-six battles by 
sea and land,) composes his body of laws; divides 
England into counties, hundreds and tythings; 
erects county courts, and founds the university of 
Oxford. 

915 The university of Cambridge founded. 

991 The figures in Arithmetic are brought into Europe 
by the Saracens from Arabia. 
Letters of the alphabet were hitherto used. 

996 Otho III. makes the empire of Germany elective. 



PERIODS, &C. 371 

999 Boleslaus, the first king of Poland. 

Paper, made of cotton ra^rs, were in use in 1000; 
that of linen rags in 1170; the manufactory intro- 
duced into England, at Dartford, 1588. 

1015 Children forbidden, by law, to be sold by their pa- 
rents in England. 

1017 Canute, king of Denmark, gets possession of Eng- 
land. 

1041 The Saxon line restored under Edward, the Con- 
fessor. 

1043 The Turks (a nation of adventurers from Tartary) 
become formidable, and take possession of Persia^ 

1054 Leo IX., the first pope that kept an arr.iy. 

1057 Malcolm III., king of Scotland, kills the tyrant, 
Macbeth, at Dunsinane, and marries the princess 
Margaret, sister to Edgar Atheling. 

1065 The Turks take Jerusalem from the Saracens. 

1066 The battle of Hastings, fought between Harold 
and William, duke of Normandy, in which Harold 
is conquered and slain, after which William be- 
comes king of England. 

1070 Musical notes invented. 

1076 Justices of Peace first appointed in England. 

1080 Doomsday-book began to be compiled, by order of 
William, from a survey of all the estates in Eng- 
land, (and finished in 1086.) 

The Tower of London, built by ditto, to curb his 
English subjects, numbers of whom fly to Scotland, 
(same year.) 

1096 The first crusade to the Holy Land was begun un- 
der several Christian princes, to drive the infidels 
from Jerusalem. 

1110 Edgar Atheling, the last of the Saxon princes, dies 
in England. 

1118 The order of the Knights Templars, instituted to 
defend the sepulchre at Jerusalem, and to protect 
Christian strangers. 

1163 London Bridge, consisting of nineteen small arches, 
first built of stone. 

1172 Henry II., king of England, (and first of the 
Plantagenets,) takes possession of Ireland; which, 
from that period, has been governed by an English 
viceroy, lord-lieutenant. 



372 ' LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

1176 England was divided, by Henry, into six circuits, 
and justice was dispensed by itinerant judges. 

1180 Glass windows began to be used in private houses 
in England. 

1182 Pope Alexander III. compelled the kings of Eng- 
land and France to hold the stirrups of his saddle 
when he mounted his horse. 

1165 The great conjunction of the sun, and moon, and 
all the planets, in Libra, happened in September. 

1182 The battle of Ascalon, in Judsea, in which Rich- 
ard, king of England, defeats Saladin's army, con- 
sisting of 300,000 combatants. 

1194 Dieu et mon Droit, was first used as a motto by 
Richard, on a victory over the French. 

1200 Chimnies were not known in England. 

Surnames now began to be used; first among the 
nobility, (same year.) 

1208 London incorporated, and obtained their first char- 
ter, for electing their lord-mayor and other magis- 
trates, from kinsf John. 

1215 Magna Charta was signed by king John and the 
barons of England. 

1227 The Tartars, a new race of heroes, under Gingis- 
Kan, emerged from the northern parts of Asia, and 
overrun all the Saracen empire. 

1233 The houses of London, and other cities in Eng- 
land, France and Germany, are still thatched with 
straw. 

1264 According to some writers, the commons of Eng- 
land were not summoned to parliament till now. 

1273 The empire of the present Austrian family began 
in Germany. 

1282 Llewellyn, prince of Wales, was defeated and 
killed by Edward I., who united that principality to 
England. 

1284 Edward IL, born at Caernarvon, was the first 
prince of Wales. 

1298 The present Turkish empire begun in Bithynia, 
under Ottoman. 

'Tallow candles were so great a luxury, that splin- 
ters of wood were used for lights (the same year.) 

1302 The mariner's compass was invented, or improved, 
by Gioia, of Naples. 



PERIODS, &c. 373 

1307 The beginning of the Swiss Cantons. 

1308 The popes were removed to Avignon, in France, 
for 70 years. 

1310 Lincoln's Inn Society established. 

1314 The battle of Bannockburn, between Edward 11. 
and Robert Bruce, which established the latter on 
the throne of Scotland, 

Gold first coined in Christendom 1320; ditto in 
England 1344. 

1337 The first comet, whose course is described with an 
astronomical exactness. 

Gunpowder and guns were first invented by Swartz, 
a monk of Cologne, in 1340; Edward III. had four 
pieces of cannon, which contributed to gain him 
the battle of Cressy, in 1346. Bombs and mortars 
were invented in the same year. 

1340 Oil painting was first made use of by John Vaneck. 

1344 The first creation of titles by patents, used by Ed- 
ward III. 

The order of the Garter was instituted in England, 
by Edward III., 1349; altered in 1557, and consists 
of 26 knights. 

1356 The battle of Poictiers, in which king John, of 
France, and his son were taken prisoners by Ed- 
ward, the Black Prince. 

1357 Coals were first brought to London. 

1358 Arms of England and France were first quartered 
by Edward III. 

John Wickliffe, an Englishman, began about 1362 
to oppose the errors of the church of Rome with 
great acuteness and spirit. 

1386 A company of linen weavers, from the Nether- 
lands, established in London. 

Windsor castle was built by Edward III., (same 
year.) 

1391 Cards invented in France for the king's amuse- 
ment. 

1399 Westminster Abbey built and enlarged. Westmin- 
ster Hall ditto. 

Order of the bath instituted at the coronation of 
Henry IV., in 1399; renewed in 1725, consisting 
of 38 knights. 



374 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

1410 GuildhalljLondon, was built. 

1415 The battle of Agineourt gained aver the French, 
by Henry V. of England. 

About 1430, Laurentius, of Haerlem, invented the 
art of printing, which he practised with separate 
wooden types. Guttemburgh afterwards invented 
cut metal types; but the art was carried to perfec- 
tion by Peter SchoefTer, who invented the mode of 
casting the types in matrices. Frederic Corsellis 
began to print at Oxford, in 1468, with wooden types; 
but it was William Caxton who introduced into 
England theart of printing with fusile types, in 1474. 

1446 The Vatican Library founded at Rome. 

The sea breaks in at Dort, in Holland, and drowns 
100,000 people, (the same year.) 

1453 Constantinople taken by the Turks, which ended 
the eastern empire, 1123 years from its erection by 
Constantine the Great, and 2206 years from the 
foundation of Rome. 

1460 Engraving and etching in copper was invented. 

1483 Richard III., king of England, and last of the 
Plantagenets, was defeated and killed at the bat- 
tle of Bosworth, by Henry (Tudor) VII,, which 
puts an end to the civil wars between the houses of 
York and Lancaster, after a contest of 30 years, 
and the loss of 100,000 men. 

1486 Henry VII. establishes fifty yeomen of the guards, 
the first standing army. 

1491 William Grocyn publicly teaches the Greek lan- 
guage at Oxford. 

1492 America was first discovered by Columbus, a Ge- 
noese, in the service f^f Spain. 

1494 Algebra first known in Europe. 

1497 The Portuguese first sailed to the East Indies by 
the Cape of Good Hope. 

South America was discovered by Vespucius, from 
whom it has its name, (the same year.) 

1499 North America was discovered for Henry VII., by 
Cabot. 

1505 Shillings first coined in England. 

1509 Gardening introduced into England from the Neth- 
erlands, whence vegetables were imported. 



PERIODS, &c. 375 

1517 Martin Luther bejran the Reformation. 

1520 Henry VIIT., for his writings in favor of Popery, 

receives the title of Defender of the Faith from 

his Holiness. 
1534 The Reformation took place in England, under 

Henry VIII. 

The first English edition of the Bible authorized 

1539; the present translation finished 1611. 
1539 Cannon began to be used in ships. 

Silk stockings first worn by the French king in 

1543; first worn in England by queen Elizabeth 

in 1561. 
1561 Pins first used England, (before which time the 

ladies used skewers.) 

1544 Good lands were let in England at one shilling per 
acre. 

1545 The famous council of Trent began and continued 
18 years. 

1546 First law in England, establishing the interest of 
money at ten per cent. 

1549 Lords lieutenants of counties instituted in England. 

1550 Horse guards instituted in England. 
1558 Queen Elizabeth began her reign. 

1560 The Reformation in Scotland completed by John 

Knox. 
1563 Knives first made in England. 
1569 Royal Exchange first built. 
1572 The great massacre of Protestants at Paris. 

1579 The Dutch shake off the Spanish yoke, and the 
republic of Holland begun. 

English East India Company incorporated in 1579; 
established 1600, 

1580 Sir Francis Drake returns from his voyage round 
the world, being the first English circumnavigator. 

1582 Pope Gregory introduces the new style in Italy; 
the 6th of October being counted 15. 

1583 Tobacco first brought from Virginia into England. 

1587 Mary, queen of Scots, was beheaded by order of 
Elizabeth, after 18 years' imprisonment. 

1588 The Spanish Armada destroyed by Drake, and 
other English admirals. 



376 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

Coaches were first introduced into England in 
1589; hackney act in 1693; increased to 1000 in 
1770. 

1597 Watches first brought into England from Germany. 

1603 Queen Elizabeth (the last of the Tudors) died, 
and nominated James VI. of Scotland (and first of 
the Stuarts) as her successor; which united both 
kingdoms, under the name of Great Britain. 

1605 The gunpowder-plot was discovered at Westmin- 
ster. 

1608 Galileo, of Florence, first discovers the satellites 
about the planet Saturn, by a teslescope then just 
invented in Holland. 

1610 Henry IV. is murdered at Paris, by Ravaillac, a 
priest. 

1611 Baronets first created in England, by James I. 
1614 Napier, of Marcheston, in Scotland, invents the 

logarithms. 

Sir Hugh Middleton brings the New River to Lon- 
don, from Ware, (the same year.) 

1625 King James dies, and is succeeded by his son, 
Charles I. 

The island of Barbadoes, the first English settle- 
ment in the West Indies, was planted, (the same 
year. 

1635 Regular posts established from London to Scot- 
land, Ireland, &c. 

1640 The massacre in Ireland, when 40,000 English 
Protestants were killed. 

1642 King Charles impeaches five members, who had 
opposed his arbitrary measures, which begins the 
civil war in Enigrland. 

1643 Excise on beer, ale, &c., first imposed by parlia- 
ment. 

1649 Charles I., (aged 49,) was beheaded at Whitehall, 
January 30. 

1654 Cromwell assumes the protectorship. 

1658 Cromwell dies, and is succeeded in the protector- 
ship by his son Richard. 

1660 King Charles II. is restored by Monk, commander 
of the army, after an exile of twelve years in 
France and Holland. 



PERIODS, &c. 377 

1662 The Royal Society established at London, by 
Charles II. 

1665 The Plague rages in London, and carries oft' 
68,000 persons. 

1666 The great fire of London began September 2, and 
continued three days, in which M'ere destroyed 
13,000 houses, and 400 streets. 

Tea first used in England in the same year. 

1668 St. James' Park was planted, and made a thorough- 
fare for public use, by Charles II. 

1678 The habeas corpus act passed, 

1680 A great comet appeared, and, from its nearness 
to our earth, alarmed the inhabitants. It contin- 
ued yisible from Noyember 3, to March 9. 
William Penn, a quaker, receives a charter for 
planting Pennsylyania the same year. 

1683 India stock sold from 360 to 500 per cent. 

1685 Charles II. dies, aged 5d, and is succeeded by his 
brother, James II. 

1688 The Reyolution in Great Britain, begins Noyem- 
ber 5. King James abdicates, and retires to 
France, December 3. 

1689 King William and Queen Mary, daughter and son- 
in-law to James, are proclaimed February 16. 
The land-tax passed in England the same year. 
The toleration act passed in England the same 
year. 

Several bishops are deprived, for not taking the 
oath to king William the same year. 

1690 The battle of Boyne, gained by William, against 
James in Ireland. 

1692 The English and Dutch fleets, commanded by 
admiral Russel, defeat the French fleet off La 
Hooe, 

1693 Bayonets at the end of loaded muskets first used by 
the French, against the confederates in the battle 
of Turin. 

Bank of England established, by king William the 
same year. 

The first public lottery was drawn the same year. 
]()94 dueen Mary dies at the age of 33, and William 
reigns alone. 
25 



378 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

Stamp duties were instituted in England the same 
year. 
1698 The peace of Ryswick. 

1700 Charles XH., of Sweden, becrins his reign. 

1701 Prussia erected into a kingdom. 

Society for the propagation of the Gospel in foreign 
parts established the same year. 

1702 King William dies, aged 59, and is succeeded by 
queen Anne, daughter to James [I. 

1704 Gibraltar taken from the Spaniards by Admiral 
Rook. 

The battle of Blenheim, won by the duke of Marl- 
borough and allies, against the French, the same year. 
The Court of Exchequer was instituted in England 
the same year. 

1706 The treaty of Union betwixt England and Scotland, 
signed July 22. 

The battle of Ramilies, won by Marlborough and 
the allies (same year.) 

1707 The first British Parliament. 

1708 The battle of Oudenarde, won by Marlborough and 
the allies. 

Sardinia erected into a kingdom, and given to the 
duke of Savoy the same year. 
1710 Clueen Anne changes the Whig ministry. 

The cathedral church of St, Paul, London, rebuilt 
by Sir Christopher Wren, in 37 years, at one million 
expense, by a duty on coals, (same year.) 

1713 The peace of Utretcht. 

1714 Q,ueen Anne dies at the age of fifty, and is succeed- 
ed by George 1. 

Interest reduced to five per cent. 

1715 Lewis XIV dies, and is succeeded by his great 
grandson, Lewis XV. ' 

'Phe rebellion '\u Scotland begins in September, un- 
der the earl of Mar, in favor of the Pretender. The 
action of Sheriff-muir, and the surrender of Preston, 
both in November, when the rebels dispersed, (same 
year.) 

1716 The Pretender married to the princess Sobieski, 
grand daughter of John Sobieski, late king of Po- 
land. 



PERIODS, kc. 379 

The act passed for septennial parliaments, (the same 

year.) 
1719 The Mississippi scheme at its height in France 

The South Sea sciieme in England begun April 7; 

was at its height at the end of June ; and quite sunk 

about September 29, (the same year,). 
1727 King George L dies, in the 6Sth year of his age, and 

is succeeded by his only son, George II, 

Inoculation first tried on criminals, with success, (the 

same year. 
1732 Kouli Khan usurped the Persian throne, conquers 

the Mogul empire, and returns with two hundred and 

thirty-one millions sterling. 

Westminster bridge, consisting of fifteen arches, 

begun 1738 ; finished in 1751), at the expense of 

^389,000, defrayed by parliament, 
1739 Letters of marque issued out in Britain, against 

Spain, July 21, and war declared October 23. 

1743 The battle of Dettingen won by the English and al- 
lies, in favor of the queen of Hungary. 

1744 War declared against France. 

Commodore Anson returns from his voyage round the 
world the same year. 

1745 The allies lose the battle of Fontenoy. 

1746 The rebellion breaks out in Scotland, 1745; and 
the Pretender's army defeated by the duke of Cum- 
berland, at Culloden, April 16. 

1748 I'he peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, by which a restitution 
of all places, taken during the war, was to be made 
on all sides. 

1751 Frederic, Prince of Wales, father to George III,, 
died. 

1752 The new style introduced into Great Britain, the 3d 
of September, being counted the 14th, 

1753 The British Museum erected at Montagu-house. 

1755 Lisbon destroyed by an earthquake. 

1756 146 Englishmen are confined in the black hole at 
Calcutta, in the East Indies, by order of the JNabob, 
and 123 found dead next morning, 

1757 Damien attempted to assassinate the King of 
France. 



380 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

1759 General Wolfe is killed in the battle of Quebec, 
which is gained by the English. 
King George II. dies October 25, 1760, in the 77th 
year of his age, and is succeeded by his grand- 
son, George III., who, 22d of September, 1761, mar- 
ried the princess Charlotte, of Mecklenburgh Strelitz. 
Black Friar's bridge, consisting of nine arches, be- 
gan in 1760 ; and finished 1770, at the expense of 
^52,140, to be discharged by a toll. Toll taken off 
in 1785. 

1762 War declared against Spain. 

Peter 111., emperor of Russia, is desposed, impris- 
oned and murdered, (same year.) 
George Augustus Frederic, prince of Wales, born 
August 12, (same year.) 

1763 The definitive treaty of peace between Great Britain, 
France, Spain and Portugal, concluded at Paris, 
February 10, which confirms to Great Britain the ex- 
tensive provinces of Canada, East and West Florida, 
and part of Louisiana, in North America; also the 
islands of Granada, St. Vincent, Dominica, and To- 
bago, in the West Indies. 

1764 The parliament granted =£10,000 to Mr. Harrison, 
for his discovery of the longitude by his time-piece. 

1765 An act past annexing the sovereignty of the island 
of Man to the crown of Great Britain. 

1766 A spot or macula of the sun, more than thrice the 
bigness of our earth, passed the sun's centre 
April 21. 

1771 Dr. Solander and Mr. Banks, in his majesty's ship, 
the Endeavor, lieutenant Cook, returned from a 
voyage round the world, having made several impor- 
tant discoveries in the South Seas. 

1772 The king of Sweden changes the constitution of that 
kincrdom. 

1773 Captain Phipps is sent to explore the North Pole, 
iB oiv ; but, having made eighty-one degrees, is in danger of 

<'■*='' being locked up by the ice, and his attempt to dis- 
cover a passage in that quarter proves fruitless. 
The Jesuits expelled from the Pope's dominions, (the 
same year. 



PERIODS, &.C. 381 

The British parliament, having passed an act laying 
a duty of three pence per pound upon all teas im- 
ported into America, the colonies, considering this 
as a grievance, deny the right of the British parlia- 
ment to tax them, (the same year.) 
Deputies from the several American colonies met at 
Philadelphia, at the first General Congress, Sept. 5, 
(the same year.) 

First Petition of Congress to the King, November, 
(the same year.) 

1775 The first action happened in America between the 
king's troops and the provincials at Lexington, 
April 19. 

Articles of confederation and perpetual union be- 
tween the American provinces. May 20. George 
Washington appointed a General and Commander in 
Chief of the American armies June 15. A bloody 
action at Bunker's Hill, between the royal troops and 
Americans, June 17. 

1776 The town of Boston evacuated by the king's troops 
March 17. 

The Congress declare the American colonies free 
and independent states July 4. The Americans are 
driven from Long Island, New York, in August, with 
great loss ; and the city of New York is afterwards 
taken possession of by the king's troops, (the same 
year.) 

1777 General Howe takes possession of Philadelphia. 
Lieutenant-general Burgoyne is obliged to surren- 
der his army at Saratoga, New York, by convention, 
to the American army, under the command of gene- 
rals Gates and Arnold, October 17. 

1778 A treaty of alliance, concluded at Paris, between the 
French kinsf and the thirteen united American colo- 
nies. The earl of Carlisle, William Eden, Esq., and 
George Johnstone, Esq., arrived at Philadelphia the 
beginning of June, as commissioners, for restoring 
peace between Great Britain and America. Phila- 
delphia evacuated by the king's troops June 18. The 
Concrress refuse to treat with the British commission- 
ers, unless the independence of the American colo- 
nies were first acknowledged, or the king's fleets and 



3B5 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

armies withdrawn from ' Arnerica. An engagement 
was fought off Brest, between the English fleet un- 
der the command of admiral Keppel, and the French 
fleet, under tiie command of count d'Orvilliers, 
July 27. St. Lucia taken from the French Decem- 
ber 28. 

1779 St. Vincent taken from the French. Granada taken 
by the French July 3. 

3780 Admiral Rodney takes twenty-two sail of Spanish 
ships, January 8. The same admiral also engages 
a Spanish fleet, under the command of Don Juan de 
Langara, near Cape St. Vincent, and takes five 
ships of the line, one more being driven on shore, 
and another blown up January 16. Charleston, 
South Carolina, is surrendered to Sir Henry Clin- 
ton, May 4. Pensacola, and the whole province of 
West Florida, surrender to the arms of the king 
of Spain May 9. The Protestant Association, to 
the number of 50,000, go up to the House of Com- 
mons, with their petition for the repeal of an act 
passed in favor of the Papists, June 2. That event 
followed by the most daring riots in the city of 
London, and in Southwark, for several successive 
days, in which some Popish chapels were destroyed, 
together with the prisons of Newgate, the King's 
Bench, the Fleet, several private houses, <^c. 
These alarming riots were at length suppressed by 
the interposition of the military, and many of the 
rioters tried and executed for felony. Five Eng- 
lish East Indiamen and fifty English merchant 
ships, bound foi* the West Indies, taken by the 
combined fleets of France and Spain, August 8. 
Major Andre, adjutant-general to the British army, 
hanged as a spy, at Tappan, in the province of 
New York, October 2. A declaration of hostili- 
ties were published against Holland Dec. 20. 

1781 The Dutch island of St. Eustatia was taken by ad- 
miral Rodney and general Vaughan Feb. 3. Re- 
taken by the French Nov. 27. A bloody engage- 
ment was fought between an English squadron, 
under the command of admiral Parker, and a Dutch 
squadron under the command of admiral Zoutmanj 



PERIODS, &c. 383^ 

off the Dogger Bank, Aug. 5. Earl Cornwallis, 
with a considerable British army, surrendered 
prisoners of War to the American and French 
troops, under the command of General Washing- 
ton, and count Rochambeau, at Yorktown, in Vir- 
ginia, Oct. 19. 

1782 Trincomalee, on the island of Ceylon, was taken 
by admiral Hughes, Jan. 11. The island of St. 
Christopher was taken by the French Feb. 12 — 
St. Nevis 14 — and Montserat 22. The House of 
Commons addressed the king against any further 
prosecution of offensive war on the continent of 
North America, March 4. Admiral Rodney ob- 
tains a signal victory over the French fleet, under 
the command of count de Grasse, near Dominica, 
in the West Indies, April 12. The French took 
and destroyed the forts and settlements in Hudson's 
Bay, August 24. The Spaniards defeated in their 
grand attack on Gibraltar, Sept.. 13. Treaty con- 
cluded betwixt the republic of Holland and the 
United States of America, Oct. 8, Provisional ar- 
ticles of peace signed at Paris, between the British 
and the x^merican commissioners, by which the 
Thirteen United American colonies are acknowl- 
edged by his Britannic majesty to be free, sovereign 
and independent states, Nov. 30. 

1783 Preliminary articles of peace between his Britan- 
nic majesty and the kings of France and Spain, 
signed at Varsailles, Jan, 20. The order of St, 
Patrick instituted Feb. 5. Three earthquakes in 
Calabria Ulterior and Sicily, destroying a great 
number of towns and inhabitants, Feb. 5th, 7th, 
and 28th. Armistice betwixt Great Britain and 
Holland, Feb. 10. Ratification of the definitive 
treaty of peace between Great Britain, France, 
Spain and the United States of America, Sept. 3. 

1784 The great seal stolen from the lord chancellor's 
house. Great Ormond Street, March 24. The 
definitive treaty of peace between Great Britain 
and Holland, May 24. The memory of Handel 
was commemorated by a grand jubilee at West- 
minster Abbey, May 26, (continued annually for 



384 



LIGHT AND TRUTH. 



decayed musicians, &c.) Mr. Lunardi ascended 
in a balloon from the Artillery ground, Moorfields, 
the first attempt of the kind in England, Sep- 
tember 15. 

1786 Commercial treaty signed between England and 
France, Sept. 26. £471,000 of 3 per cent, stock 
transferred to the landgrave of Hesse, for Hes- 
sian soldiers lost in the American war, at £30 a 
man, November 21. 

1787 Mr. Burke, at the Bar of the house of lords, in 
the name of all the commons of Great Britain, im- 
peached Warren Hastings, late governor-general 
of Bengal, of high crimes and misdemeanors. 
May 21. 

1788 In the early part of October, the first symptoms 
appeared, of a severe disorder, which affected the 
reason of George 4th. On the 6th of November they 
were very alarming, and on the 13th a form of 
prayer for his recovery was ordered by the privy 
council. 

1789 His majesty was pronounced to be in a state of 
convalescence, Feb. 17, and on the 26th to be free 
from complaint. A general thanksgiving for the 
king's recovery, who attended the service at St. 
Paul's, with a great procession, April 23. Gene- 
ral George Washington proclaimed first President 
of the United States of America, April 30. Rev- 
olution in France — capture of the Bastile — exe- 
cution of the governor, &c., July 14. 

1790 Grand French confederation in the Champ de 
Mars, July 14. 

1791 Dreadful riots in Birmingham, in consequence of 
some gentlemen meeting to commemorate the 
French revolution, July 14. Marriage of the duke 
of York to the princess of Prussia, Sept. 29; re- 
married in England, Nov. 23. Insurrection in St. 
Domingo, in November. 



HAYTI. 385 



CHAPTER XIV, 



ST. DOMINGO OR HAYTI. 



The island of Hayti, a colored republic, formerly 
called Htspaniola, or St. Domingo, lies at the entrance 
of.the Gulph of Mexico, between 17 and 21 degrees north 
latitude, and between 1 and 8 degrees east longitude; 
450 miles long, and 150 broad. The face of the country 
presents an agreeable variety of hills, vallies, woods, and 
rivers. It is extremely fertile, producing sugar, coffee, 
rice, cotton, indigo, tobacco, maize and cassava root. 
The European cattle are so multiplied here, that they 
run wild in the woods. The two great chains of moun- 
tains, which extend from east to west, and their numer- 
ous spurs, give rise to innumerable rivers — repel the 
violence of the winds — vary the temperature of the air, 
and multiply the resources of human industry. They 
abound with excellent timber, and mines of iron, lead, 
copper, silver, gold, some precious stones, and mercury. 

Hispaniola was the cradle of European power in the 
new world. Columbus landed on it the 6th of Decem- 
ber, 1492. The natives called it Hayti, signifying high 
or mountainous land ; it was also called Quisquya, that 
is, great country, or mother of countries. Others say it 
had the name of Bohio, which means a country full of 
habitations and villages. Columbus called it Hispanio- 
la, or Little Spain, which name the Spaniards still retain, 
though St. Domingo is the name commonly used by other 
nations; so called from St. Domingo, the capitol, which 
was thus named by Columbus, in honor of his father. 
When the Spaniards discovered the island, there were 
on it, at least, a million of happy inhabitants, who were 
reduced to sixty thousand in the short space of fifteen 
years! It formed five kingdoms, each governed by ca- 
ciques. The names of these kingdoms were Magua, Ma- 



386 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

rien, Higuay, Maguana and Xaraajuay. The Spaniards 
had possession of the whole island for 120 years, when 
they were compelled to share it with the French. 

The population in the year 1788, whites 27,717 
— (ree people of color 21 ,808 — slaves 405,528. Ahout 
the year 1793, a war broke out, after repeated acts of 
oppression on the part of the whites, which severed the 
blacks from the French empire. Here opened the first 
scene of the great drama. This most horrid war has 
termmated in the expulsion of the whites from all parts 
of the island, and the establishment of an independent 
government, administered by a colored people. Dessa- 
lines, a chief, was proclaimed Emperor of Hayti, under 
whose virtue, talents, and bravery, the people of this 
government succeeded in the arduous struggle for lib- 
erty. 

The events of this period are singularly important, as 
connected with the establishment and progress of civil 
and religious liberty and free institutions. 

Port au Prince (except in time of war, when the 
Governor-General was directed to remove to Cape Fran- 
cois) was considered as the metropolis of the colony. 
In 1790 it consisted of about 600 houses, and contained 
2,754 white inhabitants. The situation is low and marshy, 
and the climate, in consequence, very unhealthy. It is 
surrounded moreover by hills, which command both the 
town and the harbor; but both the hills and the vallies 
are abundantly fertile. To the east is situated the noble 
plain of Cul de Sac, extending from thirty to forty miles 
in length, by nine in breadth, and it contained one hun- 
dred aqd fifty sugar plantations, most of which were 
capable of being watered in times of drought, by canals 
admirably contrived and disposed for that purpose. The 
circumjacent mountains were at the satne time clothed 
with plantations of coffee, which extended quite to the 
Spanish settlements. 

The population and state of agriculture in the West- 
ern Province was as follow: white inhabitants of all ages 
12,798, blacks in a state of slavery 192,962; planta- 
tions of clayed sugar 135, of muscovado 222. Planta- 
tions of coffee 894, of cotton 489, of indigo 1,952, be- 
sides 343 smaller settlements. 



HA.YTI. 387 

The Southern Province, extending upwards of sixty 
leagues from Cape Tiburon, along the southern coast of 
the island to L'Ance a Pitre, contained twelve parishes, 
and three chief towns — Les Cayes, Jeremie and Jac- 
mel. It possesses no safe harbors, and its roads are 
dangerous. The shipping that load at Les Cayes take 
refuge, during the hurricane season, at La Baye de Fla- 
mands. 

The population in this department was composed 
of 6,037 whites, and 76,812 slaves. Its establish- 
ments consisted of 38 plantations of white sugar, and 
110 of muscovado; 214 coffee plantations, 234 of cot- 
ton, 765 of indigo, and 119 smaller settlements. 

The quantity of land in cultivation throughout all the 
parishes was 793,923 carreaux, equal to 2,289,480 Eng- 
lish acres, of which about two-thirds were situated in 
the mountains; and that the reader may have a state of 
the agriculture at one view, I shall subjoin a summary 
of the preceding accounts, from whence it will appear 
that the French colony contained, the beginning of 1790, 
431 plantations of clayed sugar, 362 of muscovado, to- 
tal, 793 plantations of sugar; 2,117 of coffee, 789 of 
cotton, 3160 of indigo, 54 of cacao, or chocolate, 523 
smaller settlements, chiefly for raising grain, yams, and 
other vegetable food; making 8,536 establishments of all 
kinds throughout the colony. 

The population in 1790, on a like summary, appears to 
have been 30,831 whites' of both sexes and all ages, (ex- 
clusive of European troops and sea faring people,) 
and 434,429 slaves. In this account, however, the 
domestic slaves, and colored mechanics employed in the 
several towns, are not comprehended. They amounted 
to about 46,000 which made the number of slaves 
throughowt the colony 480,000 

Of the free people of color, no very accurate account 
was obtained. Mons. Marbois, the intendant reported 
them, in 1787, at about 20,000. In 1790, the general 
opinion fixed them at 24,000. 

The exterior appearance of the colony, as I have ob- 
served in another place, every where demonstrated ^reat 
and increasing prosperity^. Cultivation was making rap- 
id advances over the country. The towns abound in 



LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

warehouses, which were filled with the richest commodi- 
ties and productions of Europe, and the harbors were 
crowded with shipping. There were freighted in 1787, 
for Europe alone, 470 ships, containing 112,253 tons, 
and navigated by 11,220 seamen. Many of them were 
vessels of very large burden; and the following is an ac- 
curate account, from the intendant's return of the general 
exports, on an average. of the years 1787, 1788 and 
1789, viz. 

Average Exports , from the French part of St. Domingo, 
before the French Revolution. 

Livres. 
Clayed sugar lbs. 58,642,214 41,049,549 

Muscovado sugar " 86,549,829 34,619,912 

Coffee " 71,663,187 71,663,187 

Cotton " 6,698,858 12,397,716 

Indig-o hhds. 952,607 8,564,563 

Molasses " 23,061 2,767,320 

An inferior sort of > ,, ^,600 312,000 

rum, called tartia y ' ' 

Raw hides 6,500 52,000 

Tanned ditto. 7,900 118,500 



The total value at the ports of ship- > .„^ ^.. ^^o 

ping, in livres of St. Domingo, was ) ' ' 

being equal to ,£4,956,780 sterling money of Great Brit- 
ain; and if all the smuggled articles were added, to- 
gether with the value of mahogany and other woods, the 
whole amount would probably exceed five millions of 
pounds sterling. 

If this statement be compared by the rule of propor- 
tion with the exports from Jamaica, the result will be con- 
siderably in favor of St. Domingo, i. e., it will be found 
that the planters of Jamaica receive smaller returns from 
the labors of their slaves, in proportion to their num- 
bers, than the planters of St. Domingo have received 
from theirs. For this difference various causes have 
been assigned, and advantages allowed, and qualities as- 
cribed to the French planters, which, in all probabil- 
ity, on full inquiry, had no existence. The true 
cause arose, undoubtedly from the superior fertility of 



HAYTIo 389 

the soil, and the prodigious benefit which resulted to the 
French planters trom the system of watering their sugar 
lands in extreme dry weather. This is an advantage 
which nature has denied to the lands in Jamaica, except 
in a very few places; but has freely bestowed on many 
parts of St. Domingo, and the planters there availed 
themselves of it with the happiest success. And such, 
in the days of its prosperity, was the French colony of 
St. Domingo. 



BRIEF SKETCH OF THE LATE AND PASSING REV- 
OLUTION IN HAYTL 

The following account of the recent revolution in the 
political state ot Hayti is from the letter of John Cand- 
ler to the editor of the Anti-Slavery Reporter, dated 
"York, (Eng.) 1st of 9th month, 1843." Its compara- 
tively peaceful character reflects much credit on the often 
calumniated people of that land: — 

" It has been long known in Europe that, owing to cer- 
tain acts of despotic power on the part of General Boyer 
the late President of Hayti, a feeling of dissatisfaction 
with his government had become very prevalent through- 
out the republic. The towns of Cayes, and Jeremie ai?& 
Jacmel, situate in the south-west of the island, and distant 
more than a hundred miles from the capital, had been dis- 
tinguished throughout the revolutionary and civil war for 
a spirit of fierceness and insubordination, which the actors 
who lived in these towns, and who took part in favor of 
public liberty, denominated patriotism. At Cayes, in par- 
ticular, there always resided a number of well-educated 
individuals, most of them mulattoes, who are ardent in the 
cause of their country's freedom. In this town, the acts 
of the late Government were likely to be criticised with 
unsparing severity, and its arbitrary sway resisted. As 
General Boyer increased his attacks on constitutional lib- 
erty, instead of growing milder by the check he received, 
the citizens of Cayes, in self-defence, and for the sake of 
their fellow-countrymen, formed themselves into a political 
union, and strove secretly to thwart and oppose his gov- 



390 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

ernment. Towards the end of last year (1842) they con- 
sidered themselves strong enough to bid defiance to the 
ruling powers, and proceeded to publish a manifesto of the 
wrongs of the nation. These wrongs, as stated by them- 
selves, may be thus enumerated: — 

" 1st. The neglect under which agriculture was suffer- 
ing, owing to the oppressive provisions of the rural code. 
2d. The almost total neglect by the Government of ele- 
mentary education. 3d. The imposition of taxes bear- 
ing with unequal weight on the laboring classes. 4th. 
The annihilation of the liberty of the press, the over- 
throw of the trial by jury and corrupt judges. 5th. The 
deteriorated state of the currency. 6rh. The election of 
senators by the President's tiat. 7th. The expulsion of 
deputies from the House of Representatives at the point of 
the bayonet, and their banishment from Hayti. On all 
these and sundry other complaints and grievances, the 
manifesto enlarges with angry eloquence, and calls on the 
Haytiens as one man to resist the power of the tyrant, and 
to overthrow his domination. 

*' The President is charged with the crime of high trea- 
son against the republic, a new provincial Government is 
organized, and General Herard is declared the 'Execu- 
tive Chief.' A new civil war seemed now inevitable; the 
patriots had touched a chord which vibrated in almost ev- 
ery heart of the people; they had raised the standard, they 
had passed the rubicon, and were now resolved that noth- 
ing but obstacles evidently insurmountable should stop 
their onward march to freedom. 

" The President became alarmed; he put on a show of 
determination and vigor, but acted a hurried part; he felt 
that v/ith all the soldiers of Port au Prince at his back, and 
his body-guards around him, his position was insecure. 
He sent for General Inginac, his Secretary of State, and 
despatched him to Petite Goave, a town on the borders of 
the disturbed district, with orders to facilitate the expedi- 
^tion of the regular troops, which he was about to send 
through that town to put down the insurrection, ' I en- 
tered on my office,' says General Inginac, ' on the 4th of 
February, and exerted myself to the utmost; but soon 
found that all my efforts were useless. I returned to the 
capitil, but before I reached its gates I was met by an 
order to place myself at the head of a column to arrest the 



HAYTI. 391 

pro2^res:5 of the insurrection, by opposing force to force. 
I might, in advancing, have caused the slaughter of my 
fellow-citizens, but 1 found that even this alternative would 
have left me without success. And proceeding some way 
on my march, I thought it my duty to fall back upon Gres- 
sier, to avoid a sanguinary conflict.' Other commanders 
in the interest of Bayer were, however, not so wise; sev- 
eral skir'mishes took place between them and the insur- 
gents, and some lives were lost. Thr.ee slight battles were 
fought. -The first of them,' says the Proces Verbal, 
'took place near Pestel on the 21st of February. We 
had to deplore the loss of twenty men on both sides. The 
second was fought about a league from Jeremie on the 25th 
of the same month, and was the most disastrous; the re- 
sult of the engagement, which lasted two hours and a half, 
were twenty men killed on our side, and a hundred and 
upwards of the other army, and about an equal number 
wounded. The last battle was fought at the gates of Leo- 
gane, on the 12th of March. The enemy, in losing fifty 
of their own men, did us no harm. The loss of lite, tri- 
fling as it appears, compared with the dreadful blood-shed- 
ding to which the Haytiens had been accustomed in for- 
mer days, is deeply to be lamented; but the clemency of 
the victorious party, and the moderation they evinced, is 
much to their honor, and serve clearly to show that Hayti 
has an improved and improving people, on whom the les- 
sons of the past have not been thrown away. As the in- 
surgents, now patriots, advanced in their career, the troops 
sent to oppose them gave way; regiment after regiment 
joined their standard; the revolution became successful. 
The news of their triumph having reached Port au Prince, 
the capit il, Boyer, left alone and defenceless, took refuge 
in an English vessel which lay in the harbor, and fled to 
Jamaica. Gen. Herard, his opponent, took possession of 
the city. 'On this day,' says the Proces Verbal, 'the 
4th of April, 1843, the year 40 of the Independence of 
Hayti, and the first of its regeneration, at eight o'clock in 
the morning, the Executive Chief chosen by the will of the 
sovereign pople, Charles Herard the elder, repaired to the 
Government house to instal the members of the Provisional 
Government,' The Chief, after pronouncing a discourse in 
which he recalls to the recollection of his hearers the lead- 
ing events of Boyer's administration and misgovernment, / 



392 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

and relates'the history of the last few months, passed in 
opposition to his rule, addresses four of his fellow-citizens 
and calls them to his councils. ' I never consider my- 
self, ' says the speaker, ' as any other than a servant of 
the people, and the instrument of its will, I have but one 
thought, but one object, the overthrow of tyranny and the 
regeneration of my country. The destructive part is ac- 
complished ; the regenerative part is now to be commenced. 
Citizens Imbert, Voltaire, Guerrier, and Segretier, in the 
name of the sovereign people, and in virtue of the power 
conferred upon me by the act of the 21st of November, 
1842, I proclaim you members of the Provisional Govern- 
ment.' The Chief having thus surrendered his power in- 
to the hands of the people, the latter re-elected him unan- 
imously to a seat at the Board of Government, and consti- 
tuted him the colleague of those whom he had just called 
to office. A salute of a hundred and one guns was fired 
in honor of the new appointments; a Te Deum was chanted 
with great pomp, and the multitudes who had assembled to 
witness the ceremony, dispersed. Let us now review the acts, 
orders and decrees that have emanated from the new Gov- 
ernment since its installation, and see how far the peo- 
ple of Hayti are qualified for the task on which they have 
entered, of regenerating the Commonwealth. 

" 1st. The ex-President Boyer is declared guilty of high 
treason, and all his real and personal estate forfeited to the 
republic. 

"2d. All the estate, real and personal, of parties accu- 
sed, (their names are mentioned, including those of Gen- 
eral Inginac, Senator Ardouin, and two or three public 
functionaries,) are sequestered provisionally, subject to the 
decision of a jury. The farms and sugar-works to be let 
^ by auction for a given term, and the money to be paid to 
the Minister of Finance, out of which, and out of the pro- 
ceeds of sales, if hereafter such sales should be ordered 
by a jury, the claim of creditors and those parties are to 
be satisfied. Sums of money to be immediately allowed 
for the support ot the wives of the accused, and the bring- 
ing up of their families. 

"3d. Several new ports are opened to foreign com- 
merce, and all restrictions of commerce hitherto existing 



HAYTI. 393 

between Hayti and the British West India islands are re- 
moved, and certain duties on the importation of foreign 
goods are temporarily reduced. 

" 4th. The popular committees or clubs of the different 
communes are directed to send in lists of persons whom 
they consider to be best qualified to serve the Republic in 
the various offices of judge, justice of the peace, curate, 
vicar, church warden, school-master, and prison-keeper, 
with a view to the selection by the new Government of all 
public functionaries in different departments of the State. 

"5th. The national guard, or militia, under officers of 
their own choice, to come into the field for drill, twice ev- 
ery week, without receiving pay, till further orders are 
issued. 

*' 6th. The executive chief is directed forthwith to make 
a military law of the island, to bring all the inhabitants to 
acknowledge the provisional government. 

" 7th. The communes are directed to meet in primary 
assemblies to choose an electional body of 620 members, 
which 620 members, when they have verified their powers, 
are to elect one-fifth of their number to constitute a na- 
tional assembly, to which shall be entrusted the power of 
forming a new constitution for Hayti. Every industrious 
man, of the age of twenty-one years, to be entitled to vote 
in the primary assemblies. 

"The members of the national assembly are appointed 
by a special decree to meet at Port au Prince, 15th Sep- 
tember, to exercise all their high functions of the delegated 
office. Thus far the Provisional Government has proceed- 
ed on its course with great moderation; life is held sacred, 
property is respected, the liberty of the subject is preserv-- 
ed inviolate. The great questions of reform, such as those 
which relate to the education of the people, the reduc- 
tion or annihilation of the standing army, the regula- 
tion of import and export duties, and the jurisprudence 
of the country are left to be determined and acted upon 
by the Executive Government that may be chosen by 
the national assembly. It is delightful, however, to ob- 
serve that the individuals now in power hold sound and 
enlightened opinions on some of these important topics, and 
especially on the momentous one of national education. 
Elementary instruction, they tell us, ' The vehicle of mor- 
26 



394 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

ality and happiness, the vital principle of nations, is almost 
unknown in Hayti; it is there deprived of all support; it 
there has no encouragement;' and they call on the people 
to remember that, ' it is this absence of education, above 
all other causes, that has served to depress Hayti, and to 
keep her stationary. Are not our young people the hope 
of their country? Is not this the class that must transmit 
to posterity the precious deposit, that our predecessors 
have confided to us? Brute force never leads to anything 
good; we must listen to reason's voice; we must light the 
torch of civilization by educating the people.' 

" The late contention, though of short duration, has 
brought much misery on the country, and has plunged the 
new Government into deep financial difficulties. The 
fields and provision grounds in the south of the island have 
been ransacked by the army for subsistence, and owing to 
the absence of the owners, who had left their homes to 
join the insurrectionary party, their renewed cultivation 
had been neglected; there is, therefore, at this moment, a 
great dearth of exportable produce. The trade of the 
towns has been paralyzed. Added to these disastrous con- 
sequences, arising out of the recent movements, are the 
melancholy results of the great earthquake, and of a fire 
that occurred soon after in Port au Prince, which, togeth- 
er, have destroyed property to an awful extent. The 
Haytiens, however, are not discouraged; they are resolv- 
ed to exert themselves, and to cultivate the arts of peace; 
they believe themselves to be on the way to surmount all 
their difficulties; they write and speak like men who have 
learned a great deal; they have full reliance on their qual- 
ifications for self-government. We trust that the experi- 
j, nient about to be made of forming a new constitution, and 
of framing laws suited to the present and future exigencies 
of society, may be entered upon with prudence, and carried 
through with wisdom. Hayti will then become what her 
situation in the Western Archipelago, and her natural ca- 
pabilities fit and intend her for, a fruitful land with a pros- 
perous people." 

For those who question the industry of the Haytiens, 
we subjoin the following tables, showing the exports 
from the island of late years. No better proof can be 
given of the general industry of a people, than the 



HAYTI. 



395 



amount of their productions, and the record of the cus- 
tom house is one of the readiest evidences of this, 
though of course but ah approach to a just estimate. 
It enables, us, however, to compare one nation with 
another. 

It will be remembered that the population of the 
island is rated from 800,000 to 900,000. 

From Essays on the Colonies, &.c., by Judge Jeremie. 
Exports in 18S2 from Hayti. 

50,000,000 lbs., valued at $4,400,000 



Coffee, 
Cotton, 
Tobacco, 
Cocoa, 
Dye Wood, 
Tortoise Shell, 
Mahogany, 
Hides, 



1,500 

500 

500 
5,000 

12 



000 

000 
000 



,000 feet, 
80,000 

From the American Almanac. 

Ex. from Eng- 
lind to Hayti. 

Av. annual 
ex. from 
1830-35, 

gl, 759,216 





U.S. Imports 


U. S. Exports 




from Hayti. 

$1,799,809 


to Hayti. 


1829 


$ 975,158 


1830 


1,507,140 


823,178 


1831 


1,580,578 


1,318,375 


1832 


2,053,386 


1,669,003 


1833 


1,740,058 


1,427,963 


1834 


2,113,717 


1,436,952 


1835 


2,347,556 


1,815,812 


1836 


1,828,019 


1,240,039 


1837 


1,440,856 


1,011,981 


1838 


1,275,762 


910,255 


1839 


1,377,989 


1,122,559 


1840 


1,252,824 


1,027,214 


1841 


1,809,684 


1,155,557 



France, in 
1833, export- 
ed to Hayti, 

$701,729 

Import, from 
Hayti. 

$905,432 



The trade with Germany is considerable, but we have 
not been able to obtain any statistics of it.— See JVPCul- 
lochjS Dictionary, Jirt., Port cm Prince, 

If we estimate the value of Haytien exports at 
$6,000,000 annually, as the first table would authorize, 
it would be $7 per head for the population' — which is the 
ratio in the United States. When we take into account 
our superior advantages of accumulated capital, educa- 
tion, &c. &c., this result is very honorable to Hayti. 



396 LIGHT AND TRUTH. 

EXTRACTS 

From the Translation of the, Letter of Ahhe Gregoire, 
Bishop of the Department of Loire and Cher, Deputy of 
the JYational Jissemhly, to the Citizens of Color in the 
French West Indies, concerning the Decree of the 15th 
of May, 1791. 

'Friends, — You were men; you are now citizens. 
Reinstated in the fulness of your rights, you will, in 
future, participate of the sovereignty of the people. The 
decree which the national assembly has just published 
respecting you, is not a favor ; for a favor is a privilege: 
and a j)rivilege to one class of people is an injury to all 
the rest. They are words which will no longer disgrace 
the laws of the French. 

' In securing to you the exercise of your political rights, 
we have acquitted ourselves of a debt: not to have paid 
it, would have been a crime on our part, and a disgrace 
to the constitution. The legislators of a free nation cer- 
tainly could not do less for you than our ancient despots 
have done. 

' It is now above a century ago that Louis XIV solemn- 
ly acknowledged and proclaimed your rights; but of 
this sacred inheritance you have been defrauded by pride 
and avarice, which have gradually increased your bur- 
thens, and embittered your existence. 

' The regeneration of the French empire opened your 
hearts to hope, whose cheering influence has alleviated 
the weight of your miseries : miseries of which the people of 
Europe had no idea. While the white planters resident 
among us were loud in their complaints against ministeri- 
al tyranny, they took especial care to be silent as to their 
oivn. Not a hint was suggested concerning the complaints 
of the unhappy people of mixed blood; who, notwith- 
standing, are their own children. It is we, who, at the 
distance of two thousand leagues from you, have been 
constrained to protect those children against the neglect, 
the contempt, the unnatural cruelty of their fathers! 

'Citizens, raise once more your humiliated counte- 
nances, and, to the dignity of men, associate the courage 
and nobleness of a free people. The 15th of May, the day 
in which you recovered your rights, ought to be for ever 



HAYTI. 397 

memorable to you and to your children. This epoch will 
periodically awaken in you sentiments of gratitude to- 
wards the Supreme Being; and may your accents ascend 
to the vault of heaven, towards which your grateful 
hands will be extended! At length you have a country. 
Hereafter you will see nothing above you but the law; 
while the opportunity of concurring in the framing it, 
will assure to you that indefeasible right of all mankind, 
the right of obeying yourselves only. 

'You have a country, and it will no longer be a land of 
exile, where you meet none but tyrants on the one hand, 
and companions in misfortune on the other; the former 
distributing, and the latter receiving contempt and out- 
rage. The groans of your afflictions were punished as 
the clamors of rebellion; and situated between the up- 
lifted poniard and certain death, those unhappy coun- 
tries were often moistened with your tears, and sometimes 
stained with your blood. 

' You have a country, and happiness will shine on the 
seat of your nativity. You will now enjoy in peace the 
fruits of the fields which you have cultivated without, com- 
pulsion. Then will be tilled up that interval, which, placing 
at an immense distance from each other, the children of 
the same father, has suppressed the voice of nature, and 
broke the bands of fraternity asunder. Then will the 
chaste enjoyments of conjugal union take place of those 
vile sallies of debauchery, by which the majesty of moral 
sentiment has been insulted. By what strange perver- 
sion of reason can it be deemed disgraceful in a white 
man to marry a black or mulatto woman, when it is not 
thought dishonorable in him to be connected with her in 
the most licentious familiarity! 

' You are accused of treating your slaves much worse 
than the whites: but, alas! so various have been the de- 
tractions with, which you have been aspersed, that it 
would be weakness in us to credit the charge. If, how- 
ever, there be any foundation for what has been advanced 
on this head, so conduct yourselves in future as to prove 
it will be a shameful calumny hereafter. 

' Your oppressors have heretofore endeavored to hide 
from their slaves the light of Christianity, b*ecause the 
religion of mildness, equality and liberty, suits not with 



398 LIGHT AND TRUTH. * 

such blood thirsty men. May your conduct be the reverse 
of theirs. Universal love is the language of the gospel; 
your pastors will make it heard among you. Open your 
hearts to receive this divine system of morality. We 
have mitigated your misfortunes; alleviate, on your part, 
those of the unhappy victims of avarice, who moisten 
your fields with their sweat, and often with their tears. 
Let the existence of your slaves be no longer their tor- 
ment; but by your kind treatment of them, expiate the 
crimes of Europe! 

* Strictly obedient to the laws, teach your children to 
respect them. By a careful education, instruct them in 
all the duties of morality; so shair you prepare for the 
succeeding generation, virtuous citizens, honorable men, 
enlightened patriots, and defenders of their country! 

' How will their hearts be affected, when, cojnducting 
them to your shores, you direct their looks towards 
France, telling them, " Beyond those seas is your parent 
country; it is from thence we have received justice, pro- 
tection, happiness and liberty. There dwell our fellow 
citizens, our brethren, and our friends: to them we have 
sworn an eternal friendship. Heirs of our sentiments, 
and of our affections, may your hearts and your lips re- 
peat our oaths! Live to love them; and, if necessary, 
die to defend them." ' 



THE THREE COLORED REPUBLICS OF GUIANA. 

The republics which have been formed many years; 
viz., the republic of the Oukas, along the Upper Maroni; 
that of the Seramicas, on the Upper Seramica; and that 
of the Cotticas, on the Upper Cottica. 

These interesting communities are in the interior of 
the Dutch province of Surinam, about midway between 
the rivers Amazon and Oronoco. These are maroons, 
[from cimarron, a Spanish word^ signifying ivild,^ or Af- 
rican slaves who have fled into the woods, and have at- 
tained to an acknowledgement of their independence by 
the colonists. The two former of these republics have 
existed ever since the year 1766; that of the Cotticas 



REPUBLICS OF GUIANA. 399 

commenced in 1772. A treaty concluded in 1809 by the 
colonists with these African states, confirmed their in- 
dependence. From that time, relations of amity and 
commerce have been established between them and the 
Hollanders. Africans, who had forcibly emancipated 
themselves, [as stated in Stedman's History,] triumphed, 
hand to hand in the fiercest battles. Reinforcements 
were sent from Holland to the assistance of the colony^ 
but the European troops wasted rapidly away, under a 
burning sun, led from forest to forest by the valiant and 
hardy heroes who constantly eluded their pursuit, or 
gave them battle on the most disadvantageous grounds. 
The colony was, at times, reduced to the utmost confu- 
sion and distress, and after a long and very severe con- 
test, commissioners were sent to treat with these intrepid 
Africans. They were introduced to a handsome chief 
named Araby, who received them politely. Taking them 
by the hand, he desired them to sit down upon the green- 
sward, on each side of him; assuring them that since 
they came in so good a cause, none dared or wished to 
molest them. A treaty of peace was agreed upon, on 
condition that a quantity of fire-arms, ammunition, and 
various other articles, should be delivered to the African 
chiefs at the ratification of the treaty, and every year 
thereafter. 

The commissioners received, in return, some very good 
advice. 

Mr. Abercrombie, one of the commissioners, asked 
for some of the principal officers, as hostages. Araby re- 
plied, it would be time enough for that, when the treaty 
was finally concluded: if they pleased, they might then 
have his youngest son to be educated in the colony; he 
would not give the Christians the slightest trouble about 
his subsistence — he would himself provide for that. 

The treaty was ratified, and the stipulated articles 
sent, with an escort of six hundred men. The com- 
mander, who was deemed something of a coward, was 
in such haste to withdraw, that he delivered the presents 
without remembering to demand the hostages. But this 
made no difference with Araby; he did as he had pledged 
his word; and gent several of his officers to Paramaribo. 

The heroes took a solemn oath to observe the treaty, 



400 LIG5iT AND TRUTH. 

and required the same^^f the white commissioners; but 
they insisted upon having it taken in their own form; al- 
leging that the Christian oath had been ^o often broken, 
that they placed no value upon it. .^ 

This took place in 1761 ; and in the same year a treaty 
was concluded with the Seramicas. 

Cotticas, being a third division of Africans, rose and 

commenced their struggle for liberty and independence; 

• which was definitely acknowledged, as we must infer 

from Mr. Balbi's excellent geography, in 1809. [D. L. 

Child.] 

The Scale of Complexion ; the Color of the Skin, 

Between Black and White is a Mulatto: 

Between Mulatto and White is a Q-uaderoon. 

Between Q,uaderoon and VVhite is a Mestizo. (After 
this the color becomes imperceptible to us,) 

Between Mulatto and Black is a Sambo^ 

Between a Sambo and Black is a Mangroon. 

Between a Mangroon and Black the white hue is lost. 

The complexion of the Indian tribes : — Reddish, Copper, 
Brown, Black, and a white mixed hue. 

We are all one, and oppressed in this land of boasted 
Liberty and Freedom. " But wo unto them by whom it 
Cometh." 



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